The Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday it is sending a team of experts to Cebu City to determine the cause of a cluster of new COVID-19 cases in a number of barangays.
In a virtual press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency has been monitoring the situation in Cebu, where 10 barangays have accounted for 328 cases between June 5 and 18.
“There are many assumptions at the moment, so we’re sending a team there so they can really do the epidemiological investigation,” Vergeire said in a mix of Filipino and English.
She said the DOH team would look at the return of overseas Filipino workers, the infections in jails and the expanded testing in the area.
Central Visayas, where it is located, is the region with the second highest cases of infection, next to the National Capital Region.
Cebu City is considered the epicenter of the contagion in Central Visayas, which as a region now has a total of 4,832 confirmed COVID-19 cases, over 66 percent or 3,216 of which were recorded in the Queen City of the South.
Lockdowns have been eased in most parts of the country except for Cebu City, which has been placed under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and Talisay City, which is now under a modified ECQ (MECQ) due to high transmission rate, and the increasing demand for critical care.
READ: PH death rate declining but new cases up
On Friday, the DOH reported 661 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 28,459, two weeks after quarantine restrictions were eased.
Of the new cases, 460 are considered “fresh” while 201 were reported late.
The DOH said “fresh” cases refer to those whose test results were released within the last three days, while late cases are those whose results were released four days or more ago.
Of the fresh cases, 277 are from the National Capital Region while only 21 are from Region 7 or Central Visayas, which has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks.
Of the late cases, 40 are from NCR and 103 are from Region 7, while 58 came from other areas.
NCR and Region 7 have been reporting higher numbers of new cases in the past weeks.
The DOH also logged 288 new recovered patients for a total of 7,378 recoveries since the pandemic started.
The DOH said there were also 14 new coronavirus-related deaths or a total of 1,130 fatalities since the virus reached the country earlier this year.
READ: DOH targets to test 1.65M Pinoys end-July
Twelve of these new deaths happened during the first two weeks of June. The others are presumed to have happened in previous months.
In its case bulletin, the DOH also noted that it removed one patient from its total case count.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reminded the public that Dexamethasone—which has been found to reduce mortality among seriously ill COVID-19 patients—is a prescription drug and should strictly be used under the supervision of a licensed physician.
“The drug should be only dispensed by licensed establishments to patients with a valid prescription. The sale of unregistered Dexamethasone or sale of the drug without valid prescription or through online platforms is strictly prohibited,” the statement said.
Dexamethasone is a steroid and is prescribed by a licensed physician based on the patient’s medical condition. Misuse or unsupervised chronic use of this drug may lead to serious adverse reactions such as immunosuppression or impairment of the body’s ability to fight infections, gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers, electrolyte imbalance, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, and poor wound healing. Prolonged use of the drug may also cause suppression of growth among infants and children.
If stopped abruptly, it may cause withdrawal symptoms such as hypotension, shock, and coma, the FDA warned.
Also on Friday, Manila’s Ambassador to London Antonio Lagdameo said the Philippines has expressed interest in a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University.
Earlier, AstraZeneca agreed to supply Europe with up to 400 million doses of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine, with deliveries starting by the end of the year.
READ: NCR remains under general community quarantine (GCQ)