More Covid-19 recoveries in Manila due to collaboration, testing

The latest data from the Manila Emergency Operation Center showed as of 12 noon of Sept. 22, there were 646 new recorded Covid-19 recoveries, 52 new active cases, and 85 new suspected cases in the city. (File photo: Manila Public Information Office/Facebook)

MANILA – Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said on Tuesday that coronavirus disease (Covid-19) recoveries in the city continue to increase due to intensified testing and contact tracing efforts.

“Napakagandang balita po para sa inyo, mga kapwa ko Batang Maynila! Batay po sa huling datos ng Manila Health Department (MHD) at ng Department of Health (DOH), patuloy na dumarami ang gumagaling sa sakit na Covid-19 dito sa ating lungsod (Good news to my fellow Manileños. According to the latest data from the MHD and DOH, the number of individuals in Manila recovering from Covid-19 is increasing),” Domagoso said in a Facebook post.

The latest data from the Manila Emergency Operation Center showed as of 12 noon of Sept. 22, there were 646 new recorded Covid-19 recoveries, 52 new active cases, and 85 new suspected cases in the city.

The total number of confirmed cases in the city of Manila stood at 12,757.

Of this number, 11,513 or about 90 percent have recovered.

“From consistent 1,400+ active cases for so many weeks to 1,300, 1,100 to 1,000… We break 1,000 then for so many days we tallied 800, yesterday we’ve reached only 773 active cases. Hopefully po ay mapababa pa natin ito (hopefully this continues to go down),” he said.

He attributed the improvement to the continued collaboration of the local government of Manila and the health and medical sector of the city to help curb the spread of the respiratory disease.

Aside from efforts to improve the capability of the city’s public hospitals by supplying them with new equipment like high-flow oxygen systems, the city government also provided medicines such as Remdisivir for Covid-19 patients as the city intensified its testing and contact tracing activities.

Domagoso said he also sees to it that medical front-liners have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) gears to protect them from getting infected.

“(We) value every doctor and nurse so that no infection or no harm will come to them. When it comes to our patients, let’s save as many lives as possible. Do ample care, ‘yun ang focus natin (that is our focus),” said Domagoso.

Meanwhile, Domagoso is looking forward to the launching of the second molecular laboratory in the city within the month, which is located in Sta. Ana Hospital.

He said this will further strengthen the city’s testing capacity.

“If everything goes out well and we are finally accredited, we will be the only local government unit district hospital with two types of molecular laboratory. We will have the gene expert and the RT-PCR. Right now, we can perform more or less a thousand tests a day for one machine what more if we will have two,” he said.

Dr. Grace Padilla, director of Sta. Ana Hospital, said if the city is able to maximize its capacity, then it will be a significant augmentation to the efforts of the national government.

“We’ll be doing our best to make it efficient, fast, and real-time,” she said.

Amid the improving results in the city’s fight against Covid-19, Domagoso reminded the public that the threat of getting infected with the virus is still there, hence health standards are still strictly implemented and must be followed.