DESPITE the increase of the city’s recovery rate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said it is not something “to be happy about” and that the public should still observe the minimum health protocols.
“Kanang (Our) recovery rate is not something to be happy about because the fact na nag-recover ka, buot pasabot, nasakit ka. So ang gusto nato is prevention, meaning ang mga tao dili magkasakit (When you recover, it means you got sick. What we need to do is prevention, which means fewer people getting sick). The only way to do that is kung duna tay strict na pagsunod sa mga health protocol na ginapa-impement sa atong (is if we strictly follow the health protocols imposed to us by the) Department of Health,” Duterte-Carpio said on Monday, December 21, in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
The mayor emphasized that Dabawenyos should not be complacent in following the minimum health protocols and that prevention is still the best way to protect themselves from getting infected from the virus.
Based on the December 20 data of the Department of Health (DOH), the city has a total of 8,093 cases, wherein 6,284 already recovered while 1,448 are active cases, and 361 have succumbed from the virus.
DOH-Davao Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit Officer Cleofe Tabada said in a virtual presser on Thursday, December 17, that the general trend of cases in the entire region is going decreasing, including Davao City.
Dr. Ashley Lopez, Davao City Health Covid-19 focal person, said in a previous radio interview that despite the steady increase of Covid-19 cases in Davao City, the case morbidity rate of Davao City had reduced, a local health official said.
Comparing the two-week morbidity rate from the third and fourth week of November to the present week, Lopez said there was a decrease in the recorded cases.
In the past two weeks, the city recorded around 600 to 700 cases. But he said there was a 50-percent reduction based on the current Covid-19 data.
However, Duterte-Carpio said there is still no room for complacency as the city is expecting a case surge for January 2021, which are attributed to the Holiday season.
The mayor had already cautioned the public from conducting parties and other gatherings this Christmas as these might be “super spreaders” of the Covid-19 transmission.
She also reminded the public to observe the minimum health protocol, and only go out for essential errands.
As to the expected shift to a lower quarantine status following the improvement in the Covid-19 cases, the mayor said it would still be up to the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
IATF recommended the city to shift to general community quarantine (GCQ) since November 20 following the surge of cases beginning mid-October this year. The city’s GCQ status will take effect until December 31, 2020.
