To maintain the declining number of infections, authorities reminded anew the public against holding social gatherings like Halloween and Christmas parties, saying that it could be a potential source of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmissions.
In an interview with the City Information Office (CIO), Davao City COVID-19 spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser on Monday urged Dabawenyos to safely observe the traditional celebrations by refraining fron mass gathering that may put them at risk of the infection.
“Based sa IATF guidelines on GCQ bawal parin ang social gatherings like that because it’s non-essential (Based on the Inter-Agency Task Force guidelines on the General Community Quarantine, social gathering like that because it is non-essential),” Schlosser said.
She said that the IATF is now crafting an advisory to disseminate the information.
“Based sa TF meeting earlier this meeting CHO (City Health Office), Tourism (City Tourism Operations Office), and CIO will work together to create an advisory and information drive na bawal ang gatherings like parties and the like,” the health official added.
With November and December drawing near, health officials are worried that by holding social gatherings, the minimum public health protocol might not be observed such as physical distancing.
Meanwhile, Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) head Angel Sumagaysay said that his office is now coordinating with the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) to caution the public against holding these social events in the wake of a pandemic.
“May mga guidelines naman tayo regarding sa mass gatherings, if they violated the guidelines may law enforcement naman tayo to attend to this concern (We have guidelines regarding mass gatherings. If they violated the guidelines, we have our law enforcement to attend to this concern),” Sumagaysay said.
He further encouraged the public to follow the guidelines set by the government to help the frontliners and eventually to put an end to the infection.
“In the maintime wala muna tayong Halloween party kay dili pa ginatugutan kay basin mao pa ni ang dahilan na mukatag na pod ang virus (In the meantime, let’s not hold Halloween parties because it is still not allowed. It might be the reason for another outbreak),” Sumagaysay said.
Based on the data coming from the Department of Health (DOH) Davao Region on the Regional Daily Case Bulletin #530, as of October 17, Davao City has noted a total of 82 new cases. It brings the total number of active cases to 4,031.
He added, “Naga downtrend na cases nato ug ipakita nato nga andam ta mutabang sa atong LGU kay luoy na atoang mga health workers ug mga ubang ahensya na naga tabang para mapugngan ang pag spread ng virus (The cases are decreasing, and let’s show that we are willing to help the local government because our health workers and other agencies who are helping us fight the spread of the virus are already exhausted).”CIO
