Despite being among Metro Manila cities that have the lowest numbers of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano reminded his constituents to continue observing minimum health standards and safety protocols to prevent a spike of cases this holiday season.

“Naka-mask at face shield man ang mukha ng Pasko ngayong taon, hindi po ito hadlang para ating ipakita ang pagmamahal sa ating kapwa. Sa ating pag-iingat at pagsunod sa health protocols, ating naipapakita ang pagmamahal natin sa ating pamilya (We may be wearing masks and face shields this year but this would not hinder us from showing our love to others. Through observing safety precautions and health protocols, we can show our love to our families),” Cayetano said in a statement Thursday.

He issued this reminder even as he announced that Covid-19 numbers in the city are now stabilizing, with around 41 plus additional cases reported daily. So far, Cayetano said Taguig has recorded 9,890 cases.

Of this number, 0.42 percent or 42 are active, with four active cases per 100,000 people.

“We remain to be among the lowest in Metro Manila. The National Capital Region’s active cases per 100,000 population are at 19,” he said. According to Cayetano, the city’s recovery rate is at 98.47 percent, with a total of 9,739 recoveries.

There are so far a total of 109 Covid-19 fatalities in the city, including seven new deaths recorded this week. He said that translates to a case fatality rate of 1.10 percent, which is still less than half of Metro Manila’s 2.93 percent.

“Our attack rate is at 1 percent, more than 0.03 percent from last week’s attack rate,” Cayetano added, noting that this is still lower than the attack rate for Metro Manila for the same period which is at 1.06 percent.

Cayetano nonetheless emphasized the need to protect the city’s senior citizens, stating that they should not be the ones doing household chores such as doing groceries, as they are most vulnerable to Covid-19.

He said based on the city’s contact tracing, two from that category had recently tested positive for the disease. A 66-year-old from Ibayo who developed a fever last November 26 and was later admitted to Medical Center Taguig on December 2, and was eventually transferred to the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital.

Cayetano said the male patient could have contracted the disease from overseeing his UV express operations at San Joaquin terminal in Pasig, or from Puregold San Joaquin also in Pasig where he would usually go every day.

The man later infected his son and daughter-in-law. The other case is a 69-year-old male from Pinagsama who watched over his wife who was confined at St. Luke’s due to diabetes.

The man and three other people from his household tested positive for Covid-19 after undergoing tests at the health center as close contacts of his wife, who had earlier tested positive.

Cayetano also reminded Taguigenos of the importance of self-assessment. He said the city government was testing all who are experiencing symptoms, their close contacts, and all city front-liners.

So far, Taguig has tested 83,323, or 8.44 percent of the city population. This week alone, the city conducted 3,007 tests.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Cayetano said that the house-to-house distribution of Noche Buena food packs and five kilograms of rice for each family would start on December 12. (PNA)