For the first time in several months, Davao City’s COVID-19 positivity rate dropped to three percent on Wednesday, November 23.
Davao City COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser, during the COVID-19 Alert program aired over 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on November 23, said it is a piece of good news for Dabawenyos that the positivity rate is also lower than the five percent acceptable positivity rate.
“We have 10 cases today. That’s a good number gyud kaayo kay for a long time, ubay-ubay ang mga weeks and even months nga nagkaroon ta og cases beyond the five percent positivity rate (That’s a good number since for a long time, for the past weeks and months, our COVID-19 cases went beyond the five percent positivity rate),” she said.
She said that three weeks after Undas, there was a slight spike in COVID-19 cases but not really a cause for worry. This, according to the city health official, showed that the City Government of Davao, through the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force, was able to control and manage the cases and positivity rate amid the relaxed health protocols.
Schlosser said, “Dili significant ang spike of cases after Undas because of the strict guidelines in place. Maski sa pagbuto sa voluntary face mask, we imposed the strict wearing of face masks in cemeteries, we encouraged social distancing, and people were discouraged nga magkaon didto. We had these guidelines to mitigate the transmission and it helped, wala kaayo nag-spike (The spike of cases after Undas is not significant because of the strict guidelines in place. Even with the Presidential EO on voluntary face mask wearing came out, we imposed the strict wearing of face masks in cemeteries, we encouraged social distancing, and people were discouraged from eating there. We had these guidelines to mitigate the transmission and it helped, it didn’t spike much).”
However, she underscored that the city’s COVID-19 deaths remained significant although they decreased to single-digit in the past week.
From November 13 to 19, six individuals died due to the coronavirus. Five of the six COVID-19 deaths were senior citizens. Of the six recorded deaths, three were unvaccinated while three seniors were fully vaccinated with the primary two-dose series but never had any booster shot.
“We lost lives again due to COVID-19 nga pwede unta ma prevent no. Significant ang deaths. Kinahanglan magpabakuna. Medyo luag na atong health protocols pero gusto unta nato mawala is the number of deaths (We lost lives again due to COVID-19 when it could have been prevented. The COVID-19 deaths are significant. There’s a need to get vaccinated and boosted. We have eased our health protocols but we want to eliminate the number of deaths),” Schlosser added.
She reiterated the government’s call for Dabawenyos to get their vaccine and booster shots at their nearest district health centers from Mondays to Fridays or avail of the weekend vaccination every Saturday and Sunday until December this year from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at People’s Park.CIO
