The City Health Officer (CHO) awaits the test results of 115 subjects who are classified as close contacts of various Coronavirus disease (Covid) positive patients in the city.

This comes as CHO chief Jeia Pondoc describes the Covid situation in Tagbilaran as “alarming”.

In a text message Monday evening, Nov. 30, 2020, Pondoc said that all of the swab samples of the 115 subjects were submitted to the molecular laboratory at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH).

She added that the CHO expects to complete the swab tests of 70 more subjects tomorrow, Dec. 1, 2020.

The taking of the swab samples is part of the contact tracing activities of the city as the number of Covid cases reached 33 as of Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020.

In a radio interview on “Newsmakers Ug Uban Pa” program today, Monday, Dec. 1, 2020, Pondoc described the Covid situation as “alarming”.

She said that as more people go out of their houses for non-essential purposes, there is a tendency for community transmission cases to spike.

Moreover, the spike in the Covid cases broke the nearly one month streak of zero reported Covid cases in the city.

The CHO warned that if people become overconfident, they may forget about following the health and safety protocols thus providing an opportunity for the Covid virus to spread.

She reminded every person to follow the protocol by wearing face masks, practice social distancing, wash hands frequently and stay home as much as possible.