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Different datasets used to conclude Cebu City tops COVID-19 cases


Reports that Cebu City has overtaken Quezon City’s tally of COVID-19 infections as of May 10 extracted figures from different sources and dates to arrive at that conclusion.


Citing data released by the Cebu City Health Department, the news site Cebu Daily News (CDN), a sister publication of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said in its May 11 report “Cebu City overtakes Quezon City with highest number of COVID-19 cases”:

The Cebu City Health Department (CHD) on Sunday logged 97 new cases, bringing the total from 1,474 to 1,571.
The COVID-19 count for Quezon City, meanwhile, stood at 1,558 after it reported 35 new cases for Sunday, the data from the Department of Health’s (DOH) online tracker showed.

Cebuanos in subsequent social media posts expressed concern over the trend, especially when the community quarantine, including checkpoints, is eased. One post said:

We are already top 1. Nagkadool na ang new Normal on May 16, 2020 nagkataas pod pag ayo ang covid19 cases... the most dangerous period is coming very soon after 4 days nalang dili na gyud mo masuko namu ani sa check point kay mo pull out nami on the afternoon of may 15, 2020 sa atong border...this is the time nga sud gawas na gyud ang mga tawo ani ang gikahinaman ug gikaintapan sa uban..GoodLuck...may God protect and bless us all...
(We are already top 1. The new normal is on May 16, 2020 and COVID-19 are rising so well ... The most dangerous period is coming very soon, after 4 days when checkpoint are pulled out on the afternoon of May 15, 2020... this is the time when people are completely out of control…Good luck...may God protect and bless us all...)

Another said:

This is not a top list I’m proud of for Cebu City

The posts were accompanied by an infographic showing Cebu City with 1,571 cases; Quezon City, 1,558; Manila, 833; Paranaque, 500; and Makati 477.

CDN obtained figures from two sources to compare Cebu and Quezon cities: the Cebu City Health Department and the Department of Health’s online COVID-19 tracker.


The infographic, meanwhile, cited different dates: May 10 for Cebu and Quezon cities and May 9 for Manila, Paranaque and Makati. The source of the data was not identified.


As of May 10, the day the Cebu City Health Department reported 1,571 cases, the DOH COVID-19 Tracker logged 1,304 cumulative infections in Cebu City, 1,558 in Quezon City, 836 in Manila, 500 in Paranaque and 477 in Makati.


The DOH tracker recorded 1,400 confirmed cases in Cebu City and 1,578 in Quezon City as of May 11. It reported 854 cases in Manila, 536 in Paranaque and 495 in Makati as of that day.


Had CDN and Facebook users relied on the same source and dates, then they would not have concluded that Cebu City has overtaken Quezon City. But what is certain is, Cebu City has become a hotspot like Quezon City.


CDN’s article was posted 31 times on Facebook and generated 71,018 including 12,512 shares, according to the social media monitoring tool Crowdtangle. Its tweets collected 383 interactions. It was also shared on Reddit.


References


Borinaga, R. (2020, May 11). We are already top 1... Nagkadool na ang new Normal on May 16, 2020 nagkataas pod pag ayo ang covid19cases... the most dangerous period is coming very soon after 4 days nalang dili na gyud mo masuko namu ani sa check point kay mo pull out nami on the afternoon of may 15, 2020 sa atong border...this is the time nga sud gawas na gyud ang mga tawo ani ang gikahinaman ug gikaintapan sa uban..GoodLuck...may God protect and bless us all... [Facebook status post]. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2957599980955334&set=a.528777807170909&type=3&eid=ARDM3iLLuotnT8s-fFIEZEcQ6htT43_ZLb5NN7uglbO6JOl_bQJWI9KTxekmSESmbpuCACod5S1yDvZ_


CCHD- Cebu City Health Department. (2020, May 10). as of may 10, 2020 8PM We have 97 new confirmed cases… [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/CebuCityHealthDept/posts/254666342569535


Department of Health. (2020, May 10). DOH COVID-19 DataDrop. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10VkiUA8x7TS2jkibhSZK1gmWxFM-EoZP


Department of Health. (n.d.). COVID-19 Tracker. Retrieved from https://www.doh.gov.ph/covid19tracker


Erram, M. (2020, May 11). Cebu City overtakes Quezon City with highest number of COVID-19 cases. Retrieved from https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/309217/cebu-city-overtakes-quezon-city-with-highest-number-of-covid-19-cases


Lexa, C. (2020, May 11). this is not a top list i’m proud of for Cebu City -ctto [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/cyrillexa/posts/3568628666497256

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