MANILA - Cebu City is experiencing post-holiday surge of coronavirus infections, with 492 cases recorded in the past 2 weeks, a health official said Friday.

"Despite the fact that in the past 10 days, nagdo-double digit kami sa aming bagong kaso (we are seeing double-digit in new cases) but very manageable naman po ito," Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of Department of Health Central Visayas Center for Health Development, told Teleradyo.

Despite the threat of COVID-19, many people went grocery shopping, visited malls and beaches to celebrate Christmas and New Year, she noted.

Records from DOH showed Cebu City tallied 54 new coronavirus cases on Jan. 9, its highest for January. In December, the city recorded an average of 6 COVID-19 cases.

However, Loreche said the city was still able to manage the new patients, only having 16 percent of its critical utilization rate as of Thursday.

The city has nearly 900 hospital beds for COVID-19 cases, including 102 in intensive care units (ICU).

"'Yan ang kinagandahan sa amin kasi lahat ng private hospitals at government facilities nag-allocate hanggang ngayon ng 20 to 30 percent bed allocation," she said.

(The good thing here is all private hospitals and government facilities allocated 20 to 30 percent beds [for COVID-19 patients.])

Since the country's first infection in January 2020, Cebu City has logged 11,273 coronavirus cases. The city's tally includes 699 people who have died from the disease while 10,082 were given a clean bill of health.

Amid the spate of infections, Cebu City has canceled all public masses from Jan. 12 to 17 at the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.

• Mga misa para sa kapistahan ng Sto. Niño sa Cebu, gagawing online

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