DAVAO City is aiming to downgrade its Alert Level Status from Level 3 to Level 2, an official from the City Covid-19 Task Force said.
“Lahat naman siguro ng mga LGUs [local government units], mao nang aim, ang mubaba ang alert level nato because that means, consistent na siya sa pagbaba sa number of [Covid-19] cases, and consistent na siya sa pag-ease sa restrictions,” Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said in an interview on Friday, November 5 in 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
(I think all of the LGUs are aiming to downgrade to a lower alert level because that means there is a consistent decline of cases as we also ease our restrictions.)
Schlosser emphasized that easing to a lower alert system would further lift some restrictions and allow more economic activities.
She said this would only be possible if the public would continue to follow the minimum health protocols and more people would be vaccinated.
“The data is showing us na ang bakuna is epektibo mismo (that the vaccines are effective),” she said, adding that those who are still unvaccinated must not hesitate to have themselves vaccinated.
With the downtrend of Covid-19 cases in the city, the City Government recently made adjustments to its existing health protocols.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio lifted the 24-hour liquor ban and the 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew on October 26, while the mayor 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 comes as the city continues to experience a downtrend in active cases brought about by a large number of vaccinated individuals.
However, this also raised fears by some that the city will experience another surge. The previous surges in Covid-19 cases were attributed to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
Schlosser said the easing of some restrictions is not sudden, adding that the Task Force had deliberated it before it was executed.
She also said the city abides by the Alert Level 3 guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Davao City will remain under Alert Level 3 until November 14.
According to the Department of Health-Davao Region data as of November 6, the city’s total cases already reached 53,415 confirmed cases, with 51,071 recoveries, 1,739 deaths and 605 active cases.
Meanwhile, vaccination for the first dose has already reached 66-percent herd immunity, or a total of 882,818 doses administered, according to the Davao City Vaccination Cluster.
A total of 788,001 were already fully vaccinated after receiving their second dose.
