DAVAO City’s risk classification is now tagged as “low risk,” as the city continues to experience a downtrend of Covid-19 cases, particularly within barangay communities.
Based on the Covid-19 Risk Assessment Map of the City Government from November 8 to 13, the city is classified as a “low risk” area after noting a -59.44 two week growth rate and 1.95 average daily attack rate.
No barangays in the city had been declared as a critical risk area from the Covid-19 transmission two weeks in a row.
Based on the Covid-19 Risk Assessment Map of the City Government from November 8 to 13, the city only declared 13 barangays under moderate risk areas. These are Barangays 6-A, 28-C, 29-C, 31-D, 38-D, Acacia (Buhangin), Baliok, Bangkas Heights, Mulig, Saloy, Tacunan, Tugbok Proper, and Tungkalan.
Tacunan has the most number of cases with 32 cases for the past three to four weeks.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday, November 8, that this shows that the Covid-19 cases within barangays are continuing to decline.
“Buot pasabot ani walay critical and high risk [tungod] baba ang mga cases dinha sa atoang mga barangays (The reason why we don’t have critical and high risk areas because we don’t have cases in our barangays) and in fact citywide nagababa ang mga cases (cases in the city continue to go down),” the mayor said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She is hoping that the city would continue to experience a downtrend of active cases.
Duterte-Carpio attributed the decrease in active and new cases to Dabawenyos being vaccinated.
“Bakuna na siya because kanang atoang mga gina-implement kaniadto nga mga lain-laing guidelines sa prevention and enforcement, mubaba man, especially kanang duna tay mga ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) and MECQ (modified ECQ), pero dili gyud ing-ana kadako or kapaspas if you compare it kaniadto nga walay bakuna (The decrease is due to the vaccination. Before, we enforced restrictions when the city was under ECQ or MECQ. These guidelines helped in preventing the spread and also resulted in the drop in case. But with the vaccination, we are seeing a bigger drop in cases),” she said.
Duterte-Carpio said that based on the Task Force’s metrix, the city can already shift to Alert Level 2. However, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) recommended that the city be placed under Alert Level 3 until November 14.
The mayor also said the city can no longer appeal for the change of alert level status as only the Department of Health (DOH) can give recommendations.
According to the DOH-Davao data as of November 7, the city has a total of 53,440 confirmed cases, wherein 588 are active cases, 51,112 are recoveries, and 1,740 are deaths.
With the downtrend of Covid-19 cases in the city, the City Government recently made adjustments to its existing health protocols.
The mayor lifted the 24-hour liquor ban and the 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew on October 26, while she lifted the mandatory barrier on motorcycles and public utility vehicles (PUVs), and made the wearing of face shields in enclosed spaces voluntary in the 3Cs settings — crowded places, close-contact settings, and confined and enclosed spaces — on Monday, November 2.
The lifting of the restrictions came as the city continues to experience a downtrend of active cases brought about by a large number of vaccinated individuals.
But with the lifting of some restrictions, there is still the possibility of another surge. The mayor said the city will continue to implement existing mechanisms.
“Nakapila naman ta ka surge nga niagi. Kung andam na ba ta (We had several surges. If the question is are we ready?), the system that we had for the past three surges, mao gihapon na siya (it is still the same). [It] is test, trace, treat and isolate. Mao gihapon na siya atong buhaton for a possible surge na umaabot (It is the same strategy in case of an incoming possible surge),” Duterte-Carpio said.
