CEBU CITY JAIL. Over 6,000 inmates are packed in the Cebu City Jail, a facility that was built to hold 1,500 prisoners. Photo from Cebu City Jail Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines – At least 125 more inmates tested positive for coronavirus at the Cebu City Jail, the Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) announced on Thursday, April 30.
The CCHD, which made the announcement on its official Facebook page, did not specify how many of the new cases were jail personnel and inmates.
The latest cases raised the total number of infections in the jail to 332.
The Cebu City Jail has over 6,000 inmates packed in a facility built to hold 1,500 people.
The city government conducted mass testing in the jail on April 20 after an inmate who died after complaining of breathing difficulty tested positive for the virus.
Other new COVID-19 cases in Cebu City were recorded in the following areas:
- Sitio Sambag, Barangay Labangon – 1
- A Lopez Street, Barangay Labangon – 1
- Sitio Callejon, Barangay Labangon – 1
- Sitio Santo Niño, Barangay Luz – 12
- San Vicente, Barangay Luz – 10
- Barangay Tejero – 1
- Tinabangay, Alaska, Barangay Mambaling – 24
- Sentro, Barangay Mambaling – 1
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Cebu City to 730, according to the CCHD’s count.
On Wednesday, at least 17 at the neighboring Cebu Provincial Jail also tested positive for the coronavirus. (READ: 17 Cebu provincial jail inmates test positive for coronavirus)
In both city and provincial jails, coronavirus cases were moved into isolation facilities.
The Public Interest Law Center earlier filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the early release of low-risk and vulnerable prisoners amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Court has yet to rule on the petition but has taken steps to ease jail congestion in relation to the outbreak.
Other important notes. Barangay Luz, where Sitio Zapatera is located, has 186 total confirmed cases.
Those without symptoms were moved to isolation facilties at Luz Elementary School.
Sitio Zapatera was earlier placed on lockdown after 95 people tested positive on April 16. (READ: At least 9,000 residents in Cebu City barangay under total lockdown)
Barangay Labangon has 3 new cases, bringing its total to 125. It’s the second barangay in Cebu City to record over 100 cases.
The city government has said that the rising numbers are due to its increased coronavirus testing since April 14.
Mayor Edgar Labella said about 80% of the cases did not show any symptoms.
Cebu City aims to test 23,000 families through rapid testing from May 1 to May 10, and conduct swab tests on those who had tested positive before lifting the enhanced community quarantine on May 15. (READ: Cebu City releases mass testing schedule)
This means more confirmed cases may be expected in the coming days.
As of Thursday, the Philippines recorded 8,488 cases of coronavirus, with 568 deaths and 1,043 recoveries. – Rappler.com
