THE province of Negros Oriental has logged more recoveries from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and fewer new confirmed cases than the previous weeks, resulting in a drop in the number of active cases.
Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion, health committee chair of the province’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), said in a virtual press briefing Monday afternoon, March 22, they are hoping that this trend will continue as she reiterated her appeal for public adherence to the minimum safe and healthy protocols.
Estacion said that in the past three days, from March 18 to 21, her office received a total of 275 swab test results.
Of the number, 263 were negative (with 19 recoveries), nine new positive infections and three repeat swab positive cases, she said.
The 19 recoveries are from Guihulngan City (eight); Dumaguete City (four); Basay (two); Bacong, Bindoy, Sibulan, Zamboanguita, and Bayawan City (one each).
The new positive cases are from Sibulan (four), Dumaguete City (three), and La Libertad and Sta. Catalina (one each).
One new death was also reported, a 79-year-old female with comorbidities who died on Sunday at a private hospital in Dumaguete City, Estacion said.
As of March 22, the total caseload of Negros Oriental is 1,874, broken down into 1,739 recoveries, 79 active positive cases, and 56 mortalities.
In recent weeks, the total active positive cases in the province slowly declined from a high of more than 200 infections early this year.
Asked whether the province is headed toward flattening the curve in Covid-19 cases, she said they can only hope for the best.
“I hope and pray if everybody will cooperate this will come true. As of the moment, our hospitals are not overwhelmed because of the lesser number of Covid-19 cases but I cannot say that we can sustain this,” she said in mixed Cebuano and English.
Meanwhile, Estacion said 2,614 frontliners have already been vaccinated against Covid-19 while inoculation continues in the private and government hospitals in this capital and in other parts of the province.
Also, the province received on Sunday, March 21, its third shipment of vaccines from the Department of Health-Central Luzon in Cebu City, consisting of an estimated 3,600 doses of CoronaVac.
These are now being distributed to the Rural Health Units in the different towns and cities and the administration of these vaccines will start on Tuesday, Estacion said. (PNA)