The Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) has an urgent message to Bacolodnons: Go get the anti-COVID-19 vaccine now!
City Administrator Em Legaspi-Ang, concurrent EOC executive director and COVID-19 Vaccination Council coordinator, sounded the alarm bells on Tuesday, September 28, as the rate of infections for the month continues to rise.
Comparative EOC data presented by the EOC as of this writing are also doubly alarming after Ang pointed out that the current figure on COVID deaths stands at 122 against the year-ago level of only 76 at the end of September 30, 2020.
“Our number of deaths this year as of September 28, 2021 almost doubled and we are averaging 109 infections daily. Our health frontliners are pointing out that those experiencing severe COVID cases in hospitals are those who remain unvaccinated,” the EOC top executive said.
Ang said that the recent, sudden spike in COVID-19 cases has put the focus back on prevention. She stressed that a major worry right now is the more transmissible Delta variant.
“This continued rise in cases is happening despite our round-the-clock efforts to give COVID jabs. The highest spread of cases and severe outcomes is happening in places with low vaccination rates, and virtually all hospitalizations and deaths have been among the unvaccinated, ” according to CHO OIC Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr.
Meanwhile, Ang recalled that a 73-year old fully vaccinated patient stricken with COVID survived the virus as against her 35- and 39-year-olds unvaccinated sons, who apparently looked healthier on the outset, but succumbed to the disease.
“We, in the city government and EOC, therefore, are reiterating this appeal: Go get the vaccine now,” Mayor Evelio Leonardia stressed.
To illustrate the seriousness of the situation, Dr. Rosalie Deocampo, EOC deputy for contact-tracing cluster, shared that on September 25, Bacolod had 140 infections, 90 of which were household transmissions, while 36 cases were of unknown origin.
Of the same total, she said, 75 were classified as new cases, while 65 were close contacts.
Six were infected at their workplace, seven from gatherings or meetings outside of their household and 1 prison infection.
The following day, September 26, the city had 133 cases; 69 of which were new infections and 64 were close contacts, Deocampo explained.
Of the 133, some 92 cases were household infections, 41 were outside transmissions, 3 from the workplace, 36 were not known and 2 from hospital infections.
Last Monday, September 27, Deocampo disclosed that there were 151 cases, of which 60 were new cases, while 91 were close contacts./WDJ