Tuesday, May 25, 2021

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Drive-thru swab site sets limit due to lack of manpower, test vials

Posted: 25 May 2021 08:11 AM PDT

DUE to the limited number of swabbers and test vials, only 300 individuals were catered at Davao City's swab center near the Crocodile Park while some were forced to go home without being swabbed at all.

Second and third generation (F2 and F3) contacts who have been notified to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing through the Safe Davao QR (DQR) Code are instructed to be swabbed in either the one near the Davao Crocodile Park or Sta. Ana Health Center.

Paul Peter Lahot was among those who were notified through the push notification of the Safe Davao QR (DQR) that he had a close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 patient who entered a shopping area on May 19 around 2 p.m.

Lahot told SunStar Davao said he was among those who were swabbed on Tuesday morning, May 25. He was supposed to be swabbed the day before but was not due to the cutoff set by health authorities at the swabbing area.

To be included in the 150 limit for walk-in, he said he had to be at the Crocodile Park as early as 1 a.m. Davao City has a curfew between 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.

"1 a.m. ko nag start [og] line didto kay 150 per tao nga walk-in tas 200 per tao nga drive-thru lang ang i-cater. Need pa mag sayo mangadlawon sa Croc Park (Crocodile Park) para lang maapil ka sa limit nila na ma cater (I already lined up as already as 1 a.m. because they will only cater 150 for walk-in while 200 for the drive-thru. There is a need for me to be that early at Croc park just to be catered limited slots)," Lahot said in an interview on Messenger.

He was swabbed around 9:30 a.m.

He said he was lucky to have been swabbed before the cutoff, but he feels sorry for those who also lined up and waited early.

He also noted the lack of personnel in charge in controlling the lines.

"Tambag lang unta nako, dapat magbilin sila [og] tao didto sa area kung asa magsagawa [og] test na kung asa siya mag-cooperate sa mga tao didto kay nagkagubot ganina tungod wala nagkadimao ang among line, walay mag-guide ba (I hope the city would augment more personnel who will monitor the lines because there was a commotion due to the disorganized lines. No one was there to guide us)," Lahot said.

He also hopes the City Government would add more swab areas in the city to avoid long lines and congestion.

Aldrin Ighot Lubiano, in a separate interview, was also in the area to avail the drive-thru swab testing.

In his case, Lubiano was already at the Crocodile Park around 4 a.m.

He said the drive-thru swabbing is way more convenient compared to those walk-ins.

"Ika-30 nako sa pila sa drive-thru lane nila tapos sa mga walk-in maoy medyo luoy ky siyempre 4 a.m. pa ang uban tapos naabtan na sa cut off. Uli gyud sila (I was the 30th on the drive thru line. I feel bad for those in the walk-in lane because they went to the area as early as 4 a.m., only to be cut off. They had no choice but to go home)," Lubiano said.

Compared to Sta. Ana Health Center, he said it is more convenient to be swabbed at Crocodile Park as social distancing will be properly observed due to its spacious area.

"Kung sa mga individual nga gusto mag pag swab test, mas OK kung magrenta sila og sakyanan kay comportable magsakyan unlike sa magpila ka sa individual kay lisod kaayo (To individuals who will undergo swab test at Croc Park, it is advisable to rent a car because it is more comfortable unlike if you would line up in the walk-in lane, it is inconvenient)," Lubiano said.

Photos of the long lines at Crocodile Park also went viral online.

Dr. Nikita Marie Jamiana, City Health Office District Health Physician, said in an ambush interview with the media that they have to set a cut-off due to the limited number of swabbers, and test vials.

"'Yun kasing dissemination ng ating DQR (Because of the DQR push notification), they can go here without schedule. Unfortunately, we have a limited number of swabbers. If we have two teams for the day, depende sa availability ng swabbers (it depends on the availability of the swabbers), we can only accommodate 300," Jamiana said.

But she said if they have three teams, they can cater up to 500 individuals.

Since the expansion of the swab testing at Crocodile Park started May 18, Jamiana said they already swabbed more than 2,000 individuals.

Despite the limited number of swabbers, they were able to swab a total of 365 on Tuesday morning.

Jamiana said they also conduct a headcount to determine up to whom they can swab and who to instruct to go home and come back.

Duterte-Carpio, meanwhile, in a radio interview on Monday, May 24, said the City Government will be hiring 30 more swabbers to augment the city's Covid-19 swab testing efforts.

The mayor said maintaining its manpower is a struggle as other swabbers resigned or left.

"We need to continuously recruit and train para di gyud ta mahutdan og swabbers. So ang atoang HRMO [Human Resource Management Office] padayon sila sa pagrecruit og mga swabbers ug doctors (so we won't run out of swabbers. The HRMO is continuously recruiting swabbers and doctors)," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.

The city is also targeting to designate People's Park and the newly renovated Rizal Park as an additional major swabbing site. The City also aims to set up swabbing centers at the District Health Offices.

The local government has established a swabbing site in Barangay Ilang in Tibungco, Barangay Talomo River in Calinan and Barangay Toril Proper.

Crocodile Park swabbing center is open Mondays to Sundays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. They will cater to individuals without the need for scheduled reservation.

For Sta. Ana Health Center, they will be open Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Individuals will have to schedule for a swab test for them to be catered.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Online pre-registration for Covid-19 vax now open

Posted: 25 May 2021 08:09 AM PDT

STARTING May 25, all Safe Davao QR (DQR) code users residing in Davao City can now pre-register online.

This was announced on DQR's official Facebook page on May 25.

DQR users can register online through SafeDavaoQR Mobile App Scanner or the website (profiles.safe-davao.com).

Registrants must click the "Covid-19 Vaccine Pre-Registration is now open for individuals" tab.

Then click "Register" and log in using the user's individual DQR code, registered mobile number, and birth date.

"Basaha pag maayo ang tanang impormasyon una mag tubag sa mga pangutana (Read carefully before answering the questions)," the DQR page said.

After filling up the online registration form, registrants are reminded to wait for the schedule of their belonging priority group. This will be notified through their respective district health office, or through a DQR text message.

Individuals covered in Priority Groups A1 (medical frontliners) and A2 (senior citizens) that had been pre-registered or already vaccinated are no longer required to register using the DQR app.

In mid-April this year, the registration feature was already incorporated in the app and website but was not functioning yet.

Earlier this year, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio announced the city's plan to incorporate the online registration for the Covid-19 vaccination.

Duterte-Carpio said they want to do away with face-to-face registration, which could result in mass gathering and Covid-19 transmission.

The mayor recently said the local government will set up an online registration site to "forecast" the number of vaccine doses the city will need.

The online registration will be intended for those who are willing to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

The city is currently holding the pre-registration at the city's nearest district health centers.

Davao City Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) head and DQR Implementation supervisor Lemuel Ortonio said those who were already vaccinated and registered in the health centers are no longer required to register through DQR.

Ortonio said the city is also planning to incorporate in the DQR system the QR code holder's Covid-19 vaccine status, whether he or she is vaccinated or not.

As of now, those who were vaccinated are given a card, indicating that the person already got vaccinated.

DQR is the city's electronic contact tracing and travel pass platform intended to be implemented for several purposes. City and non-city residents within the territorial jurisdiction of the city are required to register and secure their own DQR. It was piloted in November 2020.

For additional information on the vaccine pre-registration, the public is advised to inquire through the DQR Vaccination Helpline from Mondays to Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.: 0914559110 (Smart) and 09270229065.

Meanwhile, for those who want to inquire on the Covid-19 vaccines, the public can reach out through the Vaccine Cluster Helpline from Mondays to Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through these numbers: 09610734965 (Smart) and 09270229087 (Globe).

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Davao City eyes to vaccinate 10,000 persons per day

Posted: 25 May 2021 08:09 AM PDT

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said the City Government is targeting to vaccinate at least 10,000 Dabawenyos per day in order to achieve the targeted herd immunity before the end of this year.

Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday, May 24, that this was initially discussed, but this will only be achievable if there will be ample and stable supply of vaccines in the city.

"Initially, ang na-discuss nato for us to finish in the soonest possible time, we need to vaccinate 10,000 vaccinees per day (Our initial discussion was for us to finish the vaccination in the soonest possible time, we need to vaccinate 10,000 vaccinees per day)," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.

The mayor said the City Government is targeting to inoculate at least 70 percent of its 1.2 million population to achieve "herd immunity."

According to the World Health Organization, herd immunity is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.

Duterte-Carpio said the city is expected to receive more doses of vaccines by the third quarter of this year.

"Duna ta'y expectation, next month daghan kuno ang moabot nga bakuna karong June (We are expecting that by June next month [or third quarter] there will be a large number of vaccine doses to be delivered in the city)," the mayor said.

Duterte-Carpio previously said British–Swedish biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has committed to deliver 30,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to the city by the third quarter of this year but will be delivered by tranches.

This is on top of the number of doses provided by the National Government, through the Department of Health (DOH).

As of now, three brands are being used for Covid-19 vaccination in Davao City: Astrazeneca, Chinese vaccine Sinovac's CoronaVac, and American manufactured Pfizer–BioNTech.

The City Government is pushing for the creation of additional vaccination sites to accommodate more vaccine beneficiaries.

"We need to up our resources, our vaccines centers that it can vaccinate 10,000 a day, assuming lang nga steady ang padala sa atong bakuna (assuming that the delivery of vaccine is consistent)," Duterte-Carpio said.

At present, the City Government administers 500 vaccinees per vaccination site. With the completion of 20 vaccination areas, it hopes to achieve its target of at least 10,000 per day.

Davao City has so far 19 vaccination hubs, which include SM Lanang Premier, SM City Davao, A. Mabini Elementary School, Malagos Elementary School, Crossing Bayabas National High School, Calinan Central Elementary School, Matina Aplaya Elementary School, Kor-Phil Vocational Training Center in Bunawan, Magallanes Elementary School, Mintal Central Elementary School, Buhangin Central Elementary School, Davao City National High School, Davao Medical School Foundation Hospital, Brokenshire Hospital, Gig Oca Seamen's Hospital, Southern Philippines Medical Center, Davao Doctors Hospital, San Pedro Hospital, and Metro Davao Medical and Research Center.

As of now, the city is inoculating Priority Group A2 or senior citizens.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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