RISING. An infographic showing the number of new Covid-19 cases in Eastern Visayas on Thursday (January 20, 2022). Eastern Visayas recorded 879 new cases with a positivity rate of 69 percent, the highest single-day spike since the pandemic broke out, the Department of Health reported. (Image courtesy of the Department of Health)
TACLOBAN CITY – Eastern Visayas recorded 879 new confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases with a positivity rate of 69 percent, the highest single-day spike since the pandemic broke out, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.
Of the 1,275 samples examined by three laboratories in the region, 879 turned positive for Covid-19.
This city, the regional capital, has the most number of new cases at 180, followed by Eastern Samar with 121.
The number of cases, according to the Department of Health Eastern Visayas regional information officer Jelyn Lopez-Malibago, has been going up since they accommodate all requests for testing such as those people with symptoms, closes contacts, and those admitted in hospitals due to other illnesses.
“We remind the public that at the earliest signs of symptoms, please isolate immediately and do the right test at the right time,” Malibago said in a message sent to reporters.
The positivity rate has been rising in the past few days, from 47 percent on January 14 to 50 percent on January 15; 56 percent on January 16; 57 percent on January 17; 59 percent on January 18; 63 percent on January 19.
In terms of cases, the health department has been registering an increase from 450 on January 14 to 543 on January 15; 536 on January 16; 346 on January 17; 245 on January 18; and 648 on January 19.
It was on January 8 that the region first recorded over 100 cases after more than two months of case drop, Malibago said.
Despite surge in cases, the health department will still have to confirm if the highly-contagious variant of Covid-19 is present in the region.
“Since there is a spike of cases, we are considering the possibility of having the Omicron variant in the region,” Malibago added.
Since early January, the DOH has sent over 100 samples for genome sequencing to detect the presence of variants of concern.
Since the start of the pandemic, the region has already recorded 56,539 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 52,196 recoveries, and 633 deaths.
This brings the active cases to 3,710 or 6.56 percent of the total. (PNA)
