Bacolod City logs 20% positivity rate as it ramps up COVID-19 testing
BACOLOD City has been ramping up coronavirus testing operations, with focus on individuals and sectors at high risk of infection, and immediately isolating those who test positive. The “Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is maximizing its testing operations… the EOC is aggressively conducting surveillance testings in various areas, the recent of which was in the Bacolod City Police Office after some police officers tested positive for the virus,” the city government said in a statement released on Sunday evening. “Those who test positive will immediately be placed under isolation, as ordered by Mayor Evelio Leonardia,” it added. City Administrator Em L. Ang, who also sits as executive director of the EOC, said with the targeted testing, there was a 20% positivity rate among 441 individuals as of April 23. Ms. Ang said the 20% positivity rate is “alarming” as a 5% rate is already considered “too high.” The city official again appealed to residents to follow minimum health protocols and avoid social gatherings among people from different households. “It is important to avoid mixing people in one place at the same time because it is one key factor of spreading COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) infection,” she said. As of April 25, Bacolod had 900 active COVID-19 cases out of the 7,192 total since the start of the pandemic. There were 6,087 recoveries and 205 deaths. Of the total cases, 6,766 are local transmissions. A total of 74,886 individuals have undergone RT-PCR testing in the city as of April 24, according to data from the EOC.