AS DAVAO City’s Covid-19 active cases decrease, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is hoping that the city could graduate from the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status after July 15.
Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday, July 12, 2021, that while they entrust the decision of the city’s quarantine status to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), they are hoping that the MECQ status will not be extended.
“Well, hopefully dili na ta mag-continue sa (we won’t continue to be placed under) MECQ. We leave it to IATF,” she said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
The mayor said the national IATF has the parameter to determine the quarantine classification of a certain locality based on the case data.
The IATF is expected to announce the updated quarantine status of the city before July 15.
While waiting for the announcement, Duterte-Carpio said the city is readying for the possible reversion to general community quarantine (GCQ).
“We are readying a possible supporting argument kung nganong mag-request ta og (on why we would request to be placed under) GCQ which would touch on sa atong ginabuhat sa (on our efforts on) prevention, sa (in the) enforcement, sa (on our) testing [and] sa (our) tracing, sa (on our) isolation facilities, and of course sa (our) vaccination program nato (here),” Duterte-Carpio said.
Based on the Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao) data as of July 11, Davao City’s active case is at 3,203. In June, Davao City reached more than 5,000 active cases, the highest since the pandemic hit the city in March 2020.
Duterte-Carpio attributed several factors to the continuing decrease of active cases in the city, including the fast-paced contact tracing, which led to the immediate isolation of close contacts.
She said it can also be attributed to the life cycle of the virus.
“Basta ang tan-awon lang nato atoang (Let’s just look back on our) experience last year, ing-ana gyud siya (That is the trend). There are about three to four months na magbaba ang cases (that the cases would go downwards), then three to four months na magsaka ang (there will be a surge of) cases, then three to four months magbaba napud ang cases (will go downwards again),” the mayor said, adding that “maybe it’s the effect of the vaccination.”
She also attributed the compliance of the city’s order to stay at home and only go out for essential purposes, while workers adopted the “work from home” scheme, and companies implemented an alternative work arrangement within their offices.
Davao City was placed under MECQ on June 5 following the surge of cases that resulted in the overwhelming occupancy of hospital and treatment facility bed capacities.
Meanwhile, the entire region was placed under MECQ effective July 1 after also experiencing a surge of cases.
