DUMAGUETE CITY - Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in Negros Oriental increased over the past days as the province gears up for the implementation of Alert Level 3 beginning Sunday, January 16.

Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion, in a virtual presser Friday afternoon, said the number of active cases more than doubled in just four days.

For January 11-14, the province logged 147 new cases as opposed to only 63 infections on January 10, she said.

Two new deaths were also reported - one from Bindoy and the other from Tanjay City - both unvaccinated.

"Paspas kaayo ang transmission sa mga kaso (the transmission of cases is so fast)," she said, adding that regardless of whether it is now the Omicron variant that has triggered the spike, residents must be wary of their movements and practice minimum health protocols otherwise "sigurado gyud nga matakdan ang tibuok pamilya (the entire family will get infected)".

The province has not yet reported a single Omicron variant infection in the absence of genome sequencing.

The total caseload of Negros Oriental as of Friday is 19,960, broken down into 19,095 recoveries, 196 active cases, and 669 mortalities, Estacion said.

This capital city has the highest number of active cases at 73.

Meanwhile, Negros Oriental is among the many areas placed under Alert Level 3, from January 16-31, as announced by Malacanang, in the midst of another surge of infections in the country.

Negros Oriental shifted from Alert Level 4 from Nov. 1-14 to Alert Level 2 from November 15 and onwards as cases in the province declined to two-digit numbers.

Estacion called on the people to have themselves vaccinated against the Covid-19 for added layer of protection against the virus, especially with the threat of the fast-spreading Omicron variant. (PNA)