The Face Mask Ordinance being implemented in the city will not be lifted yet, despite a possible order of the Inter-Agency Task Force to lift the face mask requirement, Acting Davao City Health Officer Dr. Ashley Lopez said.
Lopez said during the I-Speak Media Forum on Thursday (September 8, 2022) that for now, the wearing of face masks in the city will remain to be strictly enforced.
“We are still imposing the mandatory wearing of face mask because it is what is stated under our city ordinance, unlike other provinces and cities nga wala sila’y (they do not have) ordinance. They just follow the IATF but for Davao City, we are unique because we have this ordinance to follow and impose,” he said.
He added that while the City has low community transmission, the campaign against COVID-19 is not over yet.
Lopez said that the city, as of September 7, 2022, has recorded 114 fresh cases of Covid-19 and this is a high number compared to the surge in January 2022. The city has a running total of 610 active COVID-19 cases. The recovery rate is high at 96.5 percent.
Lopez underscored though that the cases in the city are “very manageable” because about 96 percent of the cases are classified as asymptomatic and mild.
“That means that we do not have to worry about hospitalizations. In fact, the utilization rate of our hospitals is quite low, around 30 percent,” he said.
He also said that they have not detected any post-Kadayawan surge as cases have actually plateaued. The seven-day moving average in the city remains to be at 76 cases per day.
“Medyo marami but I would not say it is a surge because if you look at the trend of our growth curve nasa plateau lang siya. We are having this for the past seven weeks already (This is quite a lot of cases but our growth curve has plateaued. We are having this for the past seven weeks already),” Lopez said, adding that as it is already 14 days past the Kadayawan. Any impact should have been felt by now.
Lopez encouraged Dabawenyos to follow the requirement of wearing face masks, and also maintain ventilation, especially in workplaces because these areas may become sources of transmission.
Vaccination is also highly encouraged and to increase coverage, Sunday vaccination is now being mulled to cater to those who are not free during weekdays.
The schedule of the vaccination can be accessed on the City Government of Davao’s Facebook Page.
https://www.facebook.com/davaocitygov/posts/176699788205269. CIO
