As the 37th Kadayawan sa Davao Festival celebration heats up, the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force reiterated its reminder for Dabawenyos to take their two-dose vaccination series and booster shots amid the six COVID-19-related deaths logged from August 7 to 13 and the 14 percent positivity rate on Wednesday, August 17.
Dr. Michelle Schlosser, the spokesperson of the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force, said people will have every reason to go around with a lot of fun and entertaining Kadayawan activities happening in the city.
“Pero unta dili kalimtan sa mga tao ang pagproteksyon dili lang sa ilang sarili but sa ilang loved ones and sa entire community. Pack one, pack all man gud ta. We are living in a community where we affect each other. Kung dili magpabakuna ang uban, dako’g possibility nga makatakod sila and then unfortunate kaayo kung matakdan nila wala pu’y bakuna, dakong tsansa nga ikamatay nila ang COVID-19. Mao na atong dili gusto (But people should not forget to protect, not only themselves but their loved ones and the entire community. We are a pack one, pack all. We are living in a community where we affect each other. If others do not get vaccinated, there is a great possibility that they will be infected and then it would be very unfortunate if they infect an unvaccinated who will be at high-risk of dying from COVID-19. That’s what we don’t want),” she said during the COVID-19 Alert program of the 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on August 17.
Of the six deaths, three are partially unvaccinated while one completed the two-dose series but did not receive any booster jab. Most of the recent COVID-19 casualties were senior citizens while one is from the 10 to 19 years old age group and another belonged to the 20 to 29 population group.
She said although the anti-COVID-19 vaccine does not guarantee that a person do not contract the disease, it promises protection from the severe or critical type of COVID-19 that may result in death. Fully vaccinated individuals or those who have received booster shots, according to her, only become mild or asymptomatic cases when they do get infected.
The city health official said that since social distancing has been lifted, only the mandatory face mask wearing and frequent handwashing have remained as minimum public health standards (MPHS) in the city. And yet, the task force has observed that a lot of people still take the wearing of face masks for granted, saying that others only wear masks when there is police personnel around.
Underscoring the 9.4 average daily positivity rate from August 7 to 14, Dr. Schlosser said the public should be even more vigilant in celebrating the Kadayawan more responsibly.
“Naa’y events in enclosed areas so ang mga social distancing dili gyud nato ma mind. Naa’y uban mu-mask lang kung naay magtan-aw o magbantay. Ang uban dira dili kabalo mag hand hygiene. There will always be a high risk for transmission because of the events, sa mga gatherings, we’re looking forward because of the Kadayawawn, to avoid this magpabilin tang magbinantayon, magpabilin tang maayo atong desisyon in doing our activities and fun. Kita mismo kabalo ta unsa ang high risk, unsa ang mga activities, actions nga ma avoid nato ang risk of transmission. Emphasis pud nato for people to avail of the vaccines, not only the primary dose series
but also boosters (There are events in enclosed areas so we fail to really mind social distancing. Others only wear a mask when someone is watching. Some of them don’t know how to do hand hygiene. There will always be a high risk of transmission because of the events, in the gatherings, we’re looking forward because of the Kadayawan, to avoid this let’s stay vigilant, and let’s stay wise in our decision in doing our activities and fun. We ourselves know what is a high risk, and what activities, actions we can prevent the risk of transmission. We also emphasize for people to avail of the vaccines, not only the primary dose series
but also boosters),” she added.
The People’s Park vaccination site will open on Saturday, August 20, to cater not just to Dabawenyos but also to festival revelers coming from nearby cities and provinces as well as domestic and foreign tourists. CIO
