The city government of Cebu is ramping up the provision of booster shots for the protection of residents against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and its new variant Omicron, as the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) reported a high daily positivity rate (DPR) here.
Mayor Michael Rama underscored the efforts for booster shots administration which can be a way to ride out the Omicron threat and the surge in Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Region.
“What is important is for us all to adhere to proven health protocols, WUHAN – wash your hands, use face masks, have your temperature checked, avoid crowded places, never touch your face, mouth, ears, nose,” the mayor said in a statement, pointing out that “vaccination is our only way to liberation.”
Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, head of the Cebu City Health Department (CCHD), said his office recorded 1,068 individuals who got their booster shots in just one day on Thursday.
He said the figure is more than triple the 337 residents who got their booster jabs on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, 8,800 people showed up and received their second dose, pushing the total of vaccinees to 29,775 covering three days of vaccination.
“Our residents are now taking the new threat seriously, especially after the experience we had last year,” Ibones said in a message.
His remarks came as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) here reported a breach of the 5-percent ceiling set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the DPR for an area to be classified as low risk.
Based on EOC tally, 58 patients tested positive for Covid-19 out of the 633 who submitted themselves for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, showing a DPR of 9.16 percent, which is way above the 5-percent ceiling.
The regional DPR, according to the DOH-7 bulletin, is pegged at 8 percent, as 138 test positive of Covid-19 out of 1,709 swab samples submitted for a test at 12 out of 15 accredited molecular laboratories in Central Visayas.
Source: Philippines News Agency
