Disregard of health safety protocols particularly amid the panic in the wake of Typhoon “Odette” that led throngs of people to troop to various establishments to purchase basic commodities has contributed to the surge in COVID-19 cases in Tagbilaran City and the rest of the province, a city health official said.

“Ang mga taw nagdasok na, naglinya na especially sa mga shopping malls, nagkuha sa mga remittance centers, naglinya sa mga ATM sa mga banko, nagpila sa gasolina ug tubug, usa gyud na sa rason nganong nag surge ta,” said Tagbilaran City Health Office (CHO) spokesperson Robin Culpa.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 428 active COVID-19 cases in Bohol with Tagbilaran City accounting for 171 of these cases. Prior to the storm and the holidays, the daily tally of active cases was consistently below the 100 mark from November to December.

There were noted crowds and long queues in various establishments in Tagbilaran City after Typhoon Odette hit Bohol on December 16. Even residents from various towns were seen trooping to the city to buy food, fuel and other commodities after the storm struck.

The number of people congregating in the city only started to dwindle more than a week after Odette barreled through the province.

According to Culpa, they observed that some individuals including town residents who travelled to Tagbilaran City to purchase basic goods were defiant when told to observe health protocols.

“Wala na gyud magsunod sa atong protocols unya kung badlungon nimo mangasuko, mura’g naay self-entitlement kay nagbagyo,” said Culpa.

Culpa added that people have also started to go out more for social activities during the holidays contributing also to the surge of new cases.

“Usa gyud na sa atong gi tan-aw na cause, kanang tapok-tapok, aside from that gathering, naa pud tay makita na wala na pud maggawas ang mga katawhan apil na sa gawas sa syudad, mga nagtapok sa daplin, nagtagay sa daplin,” he said.

However, Culpa noted that most of the COVID-19 stricken individuals in the city and the rest of Bohol were asymptomatic or were experiencing mild to moderate symptoms.

Data from the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force confirmed this indicating that only two percent or nine of the 428 active cases were severe.

The same data showed that 127 were asymptomatic while 238 and 43 individuals exhibited mild and moderate symptoms, respectively. (AD)