The Quezon City government has clarified that the city has the sixth lowest attack rate in Metro Manila, contrary to an earlier report that said Quezon City has the highest infection rate for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

According to the report of the OCTA Research Group, Quezon City had an average number of daily new cases from March 9 to 15 of around 411 Covid-19 cases. Comparing this to the population of the city of more than 3 million residents, the city remained at the 12th spot with only a 13.16 attack rate per 100,000 people.

“It is important for us to review the numbers in relation to the population of the city. Given that our city is the most populous, an increase in numbers does not automatically translate to high numbers of infection throughout our population,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

Dr. Guido David of OCTA Research Group explained that the daily number of increases must always be monitored with respect to the number of inhabitants in an area in order to properly identify the infection.

“While Quezon City tops the list of cities with the most number of daily new cases, if we compare it to their population, the cases have not truly affected a large number of residents,” Dr. Guido said.

In addition, Belmonte shared that amid the spike of Covid-19 cases in the city, the city government especially its city health department continues to expand its efforts to control the spread of the deadly virus.

From March 6 to 13, the contact tracing army of the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) traced a total number of 16,133 contacts which is a significant increase compared to more than 13,000 from February 27 to March 5.

Also, from the 16,000 contacts traced, only 2,025 or 12.55 percent of individuals have been identified to be positive. Belmonte assured that these individuals have been placed in quarantine areas.

“Although we are identifying more and more cases, the stringent effort to contact trace also helps us contain the spread because we were able to isolate them from their families and their communities,” Belmonte explained.

The city also remains at the top spot among cities with the most number of Covid-19 tests conducted per day according to OCTA. Quezon City averages around 3,000 RT-PCR tests conducted daily in all its local government hospitals, city testing centers, and through the CESU.

“Quezon City is doing its best to balance out the numbers. The cases may be increasing but their efforts are in fact doubled or tripled during these times. Coupled with the city ordinances, health protocols, and curfews, QC will be able to control the infection,” Dr. Guido said.