COVID down to 30, doctors 

fear ‘post holidays’ spike 

CORTES, Bohol, Dec 19 (PIA) – Eighteen days into December, Boholanos track a diminishing trend in positive cases for the coronavirus disease (COVID) while bracing for the festivities to peak on Christmas day, less than a week from now. 

From 154 COVID positive cases as Bohol stepped into December, the cases are now down to 30, according to a daily Covid Case Map shared by the Bohol Inter Agency task Force (BIATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, December 18. 

From 10 new cases on the first day of the month, the task force now sees only one new case: that carried in by a returning Overseas Filipino Worker from Jagna town. 

By then, there were 45 cases of local transmission, one that drastically fell to a manageable 2 cases December 18. 

BIATF spokesperson Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez also assured Boholanos that the two cases of local transmission are now in isolation and managed by their respective municipal health authorities. 

Since then, some 159 Boholanos who used to be afflicted with the highly contagious disease have recovered bringing the number of recoveries to 740 by December 18, according to a comparative using the daily COVID Case Maps. 

From December 1 too, one case of COVID casualty has been added, bringing the total number of local deaths traced to the disease at 16. 

This too as some Local Government Units in Bohol obtained clearances from the Regional IATF to temporarily suspend their acceptance of locally stranded individuals (LSI), returning OFWs and Authorized Persons Outside Residences (APOR) to allow their local teams to recuperate and join the festivities while they could make repairs in their isolation facilities. 

Along this, the government through the Department of Health (DOH) has also been keen in advising people from joining parties or going to places where there are high probabilities of convergence of crowds where social distancing can not be followed. 

Videokes, as long as they are done with members of the same household is fine, but should not be done with other people from outside joining. 

Health experts have said that the spreading of the virus goes exponentially high with one belting out a song, shouting or sharing equipment like microphones. 

The DOH has been reportedly bracing for a potential spike in cases after the Christmas season with parties, shopping and merrymaking being pointed to as potential virus super spreaders. 

A spike in COVID cases can again swamp the country’s health system and this could be bad in a place where there are limited hospital facilities that can cater to this infectious disease. 

Keep away from large parties participated in by outsiders, the DOH advised adding that the government is not against merrymaking, but would rather go for safe celebration of the season of joy. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol) 

KEEP OFF FROM POTENTIAL VIRUS-SUPER SPREADERS. The DOH has advised the Filipinos to keep off from videokes joined by outsiders, or going to malls and areas where there is a potential for people to congregate and where social distancing could not be properly implemented, as health authotities fear a spike in cases after the holidays. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol) 

SPIKE COULD SWAMP THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. If people do not mind the health and safety protocols these holidays, there is a huge potential for the cases to blow into uncontrollable proportions and it could be largely fatal to communities, health experts warned. (PIABohol)