“Naay pagtaas sa atong [Covid-19] cases. Nagsugod atong nag-double digit na ta… kagahapon [January 6], 67. Yes, nagataas ta but the positivity rate remains below five percent. So wala pa ta sa ginatawag na surge but we are anticipating a surge,” Dr. Michelle Schlosser, City Covid-19 Task Force focal person, said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
(There’s an increase in our Covid-19 cases. It began when we started having double digits… yesterday, January 6, we had 67.
Yes, we are increasing, but the positivity rate remains below five percent. We do not have a surge yet but we are anticipating it.)
During the interview, Schlosser said the city logged 67 new active cases on January 6, which was higher than what was recorded in previous days, but the positivity rate remained below the acceptable limit. The 67 new confirmed positive cases were among the 1,410 swabbed on January 6, which yielded a 4.75-percent positivity rate.
The figure, however, was modest compared to 99 and 120 new cases recorded in the city on January 7 and 8, respectively.
From zero reported cases on January 1, 2022, Davao City had two cases on January 2; 16 on January 3; 32 on January 4; and 24 on January 5.
Schlosser said the city’s positivity rate, as of January 2, was at 1.6 percent. This was an approximate increase of 50 percent.
A week ago, the task force official said the positivity rate was at 0.3 percent, as of December 26.
She said this is considered a manageable figure based on the threshold set by the World Health Organization.
Schlosser, however, reminded Dabawenyos to strictly comply with the minimum public health standards as there is a looming surge due to the Delta, Omicron, and other variants that might be more massive than before.
She said data shows that unvaccinated individuals are more susceptible to Covid-19 infection. With this, she reminded them to get vaccinated as soon as possible, while those fully vaccinated must get their booster shots three months after they were jabbed with their second dose.
Schlosser expressed concern for unvaccinated senior citizens and persons with comorbidities who are very vulnerable to severe or critical symptoms when infected with Covid-19.
Based on the report from the Vaccination Cluster, as of January 6, 2022, individuals who received anti-Covid vaccines in Davao Region reached a total of 2,447,358. Of the number, 1,155,778 individuals in Davao City received their complete Covid-19 vaccine doses.
Meanwhile, the City Government noted a slow turnout of booster vaccination, with only 49,215 Dabawenyos who availed of the third jab as an added layer of protection against Covid-19 infection.
She earlier reported that the city is already fast-tracking requests for more vaccine allocation for booster vaccination to those who opt to have a heterologous booster.
Meanwhile, Schlosser said the city will add more temporary treatment and monitoring facilities in case there is a need to respond to the feared surge of cases.
