AMID the recent threat of the Omicron variant in the Philippines, Davao City’s Covid-19 positivity rate remains low at 0.3 percent as of December 26, an official from the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force said.
“So far, we remain […] in our low number of cases. In fact for this week, as of December 26, atoang (our) positivity rate is 0.3 [percent]. Even with the number of people na atong ginapa-swab, gamay gyud atong cases (that we swabbed, we only record a number of positive cases),” Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio Wednesday morning, December 29.
The official said the low positivity rate shows that the city is able to manage the Covid-19 cases.
Schlosser, however, said the city is not yet cleared of the virus, and that the public should heighten their compliance with the minimum health protocols.
She reiterated the warning of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio that anytime, the city could experience a surge of active cases.
Duterte-Carpio said during a radio interview on Monday, December 27, the city is still not spared from a possible surge in early 2022 despite achieving herd immunity.
She said that the gatherings during Christmas and the upcoming New Year festivities will “fuel” transmission, same as last year.
“Dependent gyud ang atong number of cases sa kung unsa ka grabe, or unsa kaguot sa atong disiplina, especially sa atong pag-follow og (Our cases would reflect on how strict we are with our discipline in following the) minimum health standards, even in the midst of the holiday,” Schlosser said.
(Our cases would reflect on how strict we are with our discipline in following the minimum health standards, even in the midst of the holiday.)
The health official emphasized that the holiday season is the period wherein health protocols are hardly observed as the people would troop to the malls, and some would attend gatherings, which are highly vulnerable to the Covid-19 transmission.
She also said the threat of the Omicron variant, which has now reached the Philippines, is a possible contributor for a surge in the city.
As of December 9, four Omicron variant cases were detected in the country. No cases were detected in Davao City as all cases are from international flights.
Schlosser said even if the city had experienced a downtrend of cases, the task force said the existing measures, such as expanded testing is still in place.
According to the Department of Health data as of December 28, Davao City only recorded two new cases, bringing the total active cases to 59.
