COVID cases in Iloilo, Bacolod cities on a downtrend but…

By Sean Rafio

Daily COVID-19 cases in Iloilo City and Bacolod City are trending downward but infections remained at very high risk, independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research said Wednesday.

In a tweet, OCTA Research fellow Guido David, citing data obtained from the regional Department of Health, said that Iloilo, Bacolod, and Mandaue were among the areas at “very high” classification, while Lapu-Lapu, Ormoc, and Tacloban were at “high risk.”

David said that Iloilo City’s average daily attack rate of 64.06 and positivity rate of 35% justifies its risk classification. He added that Iloilo had also registered a -37% growth rate in cases as of February 1, while the healthcare utilization rate was at 69%.

Bacolod City, meanwhile, had an average daily attack rate of 27.26%, a positivity rate of 42%, and a “moderate” 54% healthcare utilization rate. The city recorded a -23% growth on February 1.

“The goal is for the positivity rate to decrease to less than 10% within two weeks,” David said.

“There are only a few areas where the surge is accelerating…[Omicron] has already caused transmission in many places. I don’t think it’s no longer a major concern since we’ve attained some level of population immunity against Omicron,” he added.

The pandemic think tank also said that the reproduction number in Iloilo City, which refers to how many individuals one positive case can infect, stands at 1.27 or high classification. Bacolod had the highest reproduction rate in the said areas with 1.38.

David noted that the latest data comes after small surges in the areas over the past weeks.

Of the 906 cases recorded in Western Visayas on Tuesday, 185 came from Iloilo City, while Bacolod City contributed to 76 new infections.

As of 12 p.m. Wednesday, Iloilo City reported 126 confirmed cases (34 new cases and 92 local transmissions.

Citing data from the Department of Health, Bacolod City reported 102 new cases yesterday. The same data also showed that Iloilo City has 224 new cases.

Both cities are under Alert Level 3 until Feb 15.

The DOH data also indicated that Western Visayas has 684 new cases (48.1 percent asymptomatic and 47.63 percent mild).

Healthcare utility rate remains manageable with 47 percent of 180 intensive care unit beds still available, 41 percent of 1,407 isolation beds, 30 percent of 888 ward beds, and 77 percent of 179 ventilators.