Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte urged the QCitizens over the weekend to implement personal precautionary measures such as wearing of masks in public and staying indoors when experiencing symptoms.

"These are basic precautionary measures that we have been doing for the past years. It is important that we continue implementing this for our safety especially now that cases are rising," Mayor Belmonte said.

This is due to the findings of Quezon City Government that recorded a rise in COVID-19 cases in the city over the past week, raising the red status alert in its COVID-19 early warning system.

The daily average cases for the week of December 4-7 is 27 cases which is 57.9 percent higher compared to the previous week's average. Meanwhile, the average positivity rate based on tests conducted is at 14.55 percent.

Additionally, the average daily attack rate per 100,000 population is at .85 and the forecasted reproduction number is 1.

In June 2022, the QC Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit has devised an early warning system to monitor cases, analyze trends, and recommend necessary measures to prevent outbreak.

Based on the parameters of this system and the current COVID-19 data, the red status alert is currently being raised since the growth rate has breached 50 percent and the average positivity rate is beyond 5.

QCESU Chief Dr. Rolando Cruz attributed the rise in cases to get-togethers and parties this Christmas season and relaxed COVID restrictions such as wearing of masks.

"We have seen in the past years during the height of the pandemic that holiday seasons really attract more cases. Since the chilly weather can also affect the immunity of our people, we would like to remind our QCitizens to remain vigilant especially for COVID-like symptoms such as cough, colds, and fever," Dr. Cruz said.

As of December 7, there are 186 active COVID-19 cases recorded in Quezon City.