The spike in COVID-19 cases in Bohol has reached a “very alarming” state, the province’s disaster management chief said Monday.

According to Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (PDRRMO) Anthony Damalerio, the increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases was abrupt and involved many local transmissions.

The number of infections started to decrease at the onset of the previous week, plummeting down to 28 on Wednesday but rapidly rising to 112 by Sunday.

“Kadtong sa previous records nato kay gradual man ang increase in a span of several weeks…pero kani atong record karon from 42 on Thursday last week to Sunday gahapon niabot og 112 so naay increase og 70 cases, paspas ang spike,” he said.

Meanwhile, locally transmitted infections have been on the rise with 21 new cases recorded on Sunday and 40 in total across the province.

Damalerio pointed out that health workers have also been hit by the highly contagious virus.

Some three medical frontliners at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, the province’s main COVID-19 health facility, were infected with the disease, he said.

A doctor working at a hospital in Jagna also contracted COVID-19.

Damalerio called on the public to be vigilant and to continue following health safety measures particularly as the Christmas season draws near.

He warned that the virus could spread further if the public continues to flout health protocols.

“[Mo saka] pa ni og magsige ning daghang tapok-tapok sa Pasko, ug mo gawas ka mura’g grabe na ang activity sa downtown, even sa Facebook daghan makita nimong public gathering, mga party-party,” he said.

Prior to the sudden spike in new COVID-19 infections, mayors mulled to relax entry requirements into the province considering home quarantine for arriving locally stranded individuals, overseas Filipino workers and authorized personnel outside of residence.

The local chief executives, as members of the League of Municipalities Bohol, submitted the proposal to the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force led by Governor Art Yap for approval.

Bohol doctors through the Bohol Medical Society and the Philippine College of Physicians (Bohol Chapter) have expressed their opposition against the proposal.

“It would take only one unidentified active case to begin a nightmarish scenario of an uncontrolled outbreak,” both groups said in a joint statement. (R. Tutas)