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- ‘Sars-CoV-2 variant’ causing spike in Davao City Covid-19 cases
- Davao City opens biggest vaccination hub
- Davao del Norte cities, town experience Covid-19 surge
- Davao City Government asks IATF to place city under MECQ
| ‘Sars-CoV-2 variant’ causing spike in Davao City Covid-19 cases Posted: 02 Jun 2021 05:03 AM PDT AN OFFICIAL from the Davao City Health Office (CHO) said the current surge of Covid-19 cases experienced in the city can be attributed to the emergence of the new variant. "I believe naa gyud ta'y variant. Although wala pa ta'y confirmation ani with the PGC [Philippine Genome Center], [kung] ingon ani kapaspas ang pagsaka [sa Covid-19 cases], variant ni (I believe that this is due to the emergence of the new variant. Although there is still no confirmation coming from PGC, but if this is the trend of the increase in cases it must be because of the new variant)," CHO Acting Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio. Lopez said these variants could be B.1.1.7 or the B.1.351. The B.1.1.7 was first reported in the United Kingdom, while the B.1.351 was first reported in South Africa. The health official said that currently, the city has zero active cases of the new variant. Since February, Lopez said the city has five officially reported cases of new variants -- three are positive with the UK variant and two for the South African variant. He said most of these patients, who are returning overseas Filipino workers (ROFWs), have not reached the city, as they were held in Metro Manila. At present, the city has still zero confirmed specimens for P.3 variant, which was first reported in the Philippines, and B.1.617, which was first reported in India. Lopez said he is hoping that the suspected variant in the city is not the B.1.617, as reports cited it as one of the more infectious Covid-19 variants. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), B.1.617 has shown evidence of higher transmissibility and reduced neutralization. The variant is thought to be partly responsible for India's devastating second wave of Covid-19 pandemic beginning in February 2021. Lopez said the city continuously sends specimens of confirmed positive patients to PGC for genomic sequencing. At present, Lopez cannot give the specific data as to the number of specimens sent for sequencing, but assured that they send every two weeks. Possible entry of coronavirus variant Lopez noted that various parts of the country, particularly in Metro Manila, had experienced a surge of cases reportedly due to the emergence of the new variants. This had overwhelmed the critical care facilities. Despite existing travel restrictions, including the intensified border control and the mandatory submission of a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (also known as Davao International Airport), the official said the possible entry of an individual carrying the new strain of the virus cannot be avoided. "Daghan man gud ta'g OFW nga nanguli, tong atong mga returning residents. Dili kaayo ta sa tourist, but basically our returning residents ug mga OFW, daghan man gud nanguli og Davao ato, katong panahon nga ga-surge ang NCR ug Cebu, nanguli og Mindanao (Many OFWs, especially returning residents, went home to Mindanao, particularly in Davao during the time when there was a surge of cases in NCR and Cebu. Not so much on the tourist, these are mostly attributed to our returning residents and OFWs)," Lopez said. He also attributed the land travelers for the possible entry of the new variants. "Labi na nang by land. Daghang nakalusot (Most especially by land travel, many get past the checkpoint)," he added. Covid-19 spike Davao City, on Tuesday evening, June 1, 2021, recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases in a single day at 338. With the newly logged cases, the total Covid-19 in the city reached 17,337, while active cases jumped to 1,912. DOH-Davao said that among the factors for the record-high number of new cases may be due to the heightened surveillance and intensified testing. Lopez said based on the data, this is "seven times" higher compared to the surge of cases experienced in mid-October and November 2020. Starting May, the city has an average of 100 daily new cases. "Kani karon, grabe ang spike, ang dagan sa kaso dili gani hinay-hinay (Now we have seen a spike of cases. The cases have increased rapidly and not gradually)," he said. But Lopez said some of the recorded cases are accumulated late cases from the previous days. On the "positive side," Lopez said the city had already anticipated the possible surge, as the city conducted intensified community swabbing and heightened surveillance. "Pero ako, dili pud ko nga ma-worry such ani, on the positive side, mas malipay ko nga ato ni nakuha or trace. Imagine magsige ta report nga gamay lang ang kaso, unya naa diay 300 plus nagtuyok-tuyok sa atong komunidad, dinhi dapit sa atong siyudad, mas delikado to (For my part, I am not worried because, on the positive side, I am glad that we were able to get or tace them. Imagine we keep on reporting to have a few number of cases while the 300 plus cases are left undetected and are currently roaming around within communities and the city, that would be risky)," Lopez said. Lopez, meanwhile, said it is important to trace all Covid-19 suspects in the city to curb the spread of cases. If the city did not intensify its heightened surveillance swabbing, he said the cases could have reached more than 300. Despite the surge of cases, Lopez noted a decrease in the fatality rate. The city's case fatality rate is still at 4.4-percent. "Based on our data, compared to the previous surge, katong first surge nato last November, ang patay ato, walo, pulo, ang average per day, pero karon ubos-ubos ang case fatality rate nato (in November last year, our deaths reached eight to 10 average per day. But now our case fatality rate is slowing down)," he said. There are instances, however, that deaths would reach five in a single day, but it is not constant. With this, he said it still could not be determined if the new variants are deadlier than the ancestral variant since studies show that they are only more infectious.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Davao City opens biggest vaccination hub Posted: 02 Jun 2021 05:02 AM PDT THE Davao City Government opened on Tuesday, June 2, the city's biggest vaccination site at the Azuela Cove in Lanang that can cater to up to 1,000 vaccinees per day. City Health Office (CHO) Acting Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said in a radio interview on Wednesday, June 2, the City will be administering the vaccines at The Tent with the Azuela Cove. "This is actually so far the biggest vaccination site nga atong na-establish (that we have established) here in Davao City, which could cater up to 1,000 recipients or 1,000 vaccines per day," Lopez said in an interview with 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio. Azuela Cove's The Tent is a 2,000-square-meter air-conditioned events venue wherein future conventions, festivals, and other special events are targeted to be held. It has a capacity of about 1,500 people. The Azuela Cove is a 25-hectare waterside development project of Aviana Development Corporation, a joint venture partnership between real estate giant Ayala Land and homegrown The Alcantara Group of Companies. Azuela has been the venue of the Ironman 70.3 Davao race in 2018 and 2019. Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio recently said the City 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. But Duterte-Carpio said this will only be achievable if there will be ample and stable supply of vaccines in the city. Vaccines running low Lopez also expressed concern about the current supply of vaccines in the city. "Hinaot unta atong bakuna dili madelay ang pag allocate from the national government kay sa pagkakaron nahurot na ang Astra[Zeneca], nahurot na ang Pfizer. Natagaan ta additional vaccines from DOH [Department of Health] 11, katong Sinovac pero pahurutay napud ning Sinovac. Hopefully dili mastop o mainterrupt ang supply nato so that makapadayon ta og ma-maximize atong pagpabakuna (We're hoping that the vaccine allocation from the national government won't be delayed since we have run out of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. DOH 11 gave us additional Sinovac vaccines, which are also running out as of this time. We hope our vaccine supply won't be stopped nor interrupted)," the CHO head said. He said the city recently received 6,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines, which are being used in several vaccination hubs. But he assured that the National Covid-19 Task Force promised to send more Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines and some 200,000 Pfizer vaccines that are tentatively scheduled to arrive on June 6 and 7. He also confirmed that some of the 21 vaccination sites had to suspend operations, not because of the lack of supply of vaccines but the need to take breaks and conduct disinfection. "We need to disinfect. Kinahanglan nato sila ipahulay. Dili na pwede na whole month nga operation kay dapat naa silay interval at least one week for disinfection apil napud break sa atong staff (We need to take breaks. We can't operate a vaccination site for the entire month, there needs to be at least one week for disinfection and break of the staff)," Lopez said. The city is currently catering to those under the A3 priority group or persons with comorbidities aged 18 to 59 years old with existing health conditions such as chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, malignancy, diabetes, obesity, chronic liver disease, neurologic disease, and immunodeficiency state, among others. Davao City is targeting to inoculate at least 70 percent of its 1.2 million population to achieve "herd immunity."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Davao del Norte cities, town experience Covid-19 surge Posted: 02 Jun 2021 04:58 AM PDT ALL three cities and one town in Davao del Norte are experiencing continuous surge of Covid-19 cases as they enter the month of June. These are Tagum City, Panabo City, Island Garden City of Samal and Municipality of Santo Tomas. The Island Garden City of Samal has suspended all of its tourism activities from June 1, 2021 to June 14, 2021 with the release of Executive Order 292, series of 2021, which stated "there is a need to prohibit all tourism activities in the Island Garden City of Samal due to the continuous surge of Covid-19 cases in the city and its neighboring places." The EO is "an order amending Executive Order No. 291, series of 2021 to include suspension of all tourism activities in the Island Garden City of Samal within the period June 1 to June 14, 2921 except DOT star-rated resorts and staycation establishments." As of June 1, 2021, there are 42 active cases in the city of Samal. Similarly, Panabo City is also experiencing a surge of Covid-19 cases. Acting City Health Officer Dr. Eranie L. Pangilinan said "murag surge 2.0 (It's like surge 2.0)." She said this after 22 new cases were recorded from Barangays New Visayas, Datu Abdul Dadia, San Francisco, Cagangohan, and Sto. Niño, which she said were only recording "one digit" number of cases several weeks prior. She pointed that there are various causes for the surge such as the mandatory testing companies implement to their employees and Covid-19 transmissions due to disobedience on the health protocols. As of June 1, 2021, Panabo City has 102 active cases. The same surge can be seen in the province's capital, Tagum City, as the active cases rose from 251 on May 29, 2021 to 308 on June 1, 2021; an increase of 57 active cases within four days. Tagum City currently has the most number of active cases in the province. The Municipality of Santo Tomas followed Tagum City in terms of most number of active cases in the province, as active cases of 120 on May 31, 2021 increased to 144 on June 1, 2021. Although the Island Garden City of Samal has released an EO in response to such rise in cases, the other cities and town have yet to release their own. In the province of Davao del Norte as a whole, there are 713 active cases as of June 1, 2021. The cities and town mentioned above have the most contribution to this number. (PIA-Davao)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Davao City Government asks IATF to place city under MECQ Posted: 01 Jun 2021 11:42 PM PDT (UPDATED) THE Davao City Government has requested the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to elevate the quarantine status of the city to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from June 5 to 30, 2021 "to allow a circuit breaker in the surge of patients inside hospitals." The City Government said in an advisory on its official Facebook page on Wednesday, June 2, that they already forwarded their request to the IATF-Regional Task Force (IATF-RTF). While waiting for the approval, the local government encouraged Dabawenyos to review the regulations for MECQ under Section 3 of the IATF Omnibus Guidelines dated May 20, 2021 and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Memorandum Circular 21-19 dated May 14, 2021. Salient points of the guidelines include limiting the movement of all persons to accessing goods and establishments and for work in such establishments (Sec. 3, IATF Omnibus Guidelines dated May 20, 2021). It also states that any person below 18 years old and over 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities and pregnant women shall be required to stay at home, except for obtaining essential goods and services (Sec. 3, IATF Omnibus Guidelines dated May 20, 2021). The City Government has called on those affected by MECQ zero operational capacity to coordinate with the Trabaho Dabawenyo employment assistance at the City Mayor's Office Special Project Office at Magsaysay Park. The City added that all public transportation shall be permitted to operate. "We need to help our frontliners by making sure that we stay home except for work or business," it said. In her letter addressed to Undersecretary Epimaco Desing III of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and chairman of the IATF-EID Screening and Validation Committee, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio presented the Covid-19 cases in the city to support her request to place the city under MECQ. "As of May 31, 2021, we have a total of 1,665 active cases currently admitted at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and our Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities and Isolation Facilities," she said. Duterte-Carpio said there were nearly a thousand cases reported from May 23-29, 2021, with the city recording its highest number of cases at 198 cases reported in a day on May 29 since the start of the pandemic. Davao City later broke its own record after logging 338 new cases on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. With the newly-logged cases, the total Covid-19 in the city reached 17,337, while active cases jumped to 1,912. DOH-Davao said that among the factors for the record-high number of new cases is the heightened surveillance and intensified testing. The mayor was concerned that the beds at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) are now at a critical utilization rate while the Intensive Care Units at SPMC and two private hospitals are already full. President Rodrigo Duterte recently announced that Davao City will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) from June 1 to 30, 2021. Critical Utilization Rate As of May 31, the SPMC reported that all of its 77 intensive care unit (ICU) beds have been fully occupied, while 293 out of the 312 ward beds are occupied. City Health Office (CHO) Acting Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said the hospital remains to be under "critical" level due to the near occupancy of its critical care facility. To support SPMC, private hospitals, namely, Davao Doctors Hospital, Metro Davao Medical And Research Center, and Brokenshire Hospital, have started catering Covid-19 patients. Lopez said private hospitals were already noted to start catering Covid-19 severe and critical patients. Private hospitals were also mandated to cater at least 20 percent of their total bed capacities for Covid-19 patients. He admitted, however, that not all hospitals have started to cater due to lack of facilities and manpower. He said the city will be augmenting support to private hospitals. Lopez said the city's 16 TTMF with 1,300 beds are also getting overwhelmed. With this, the city decided to open eight more TTMFs for patients with mild and asymptomatic cases. 'Moderate risk' With the current surge of cases, Lopez said in a radio interview on Wednesday that the city's local government unit (LGU) classification is at "moderate risk." Lopez said the classification is based on two indicators: the low two-week growth rate and the Average Daily Attack Rate (Adar). "We are both under medium. Pag duha ka medium, basing on these two indications, moderate risk ang atong LGU classification," he said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio. From May 31 to June 5, eight barangays in the city are under "critical risk". These are 9-A, 11-B, 24-C, 32-D, 33-D, Panacan, Riverside (Calinan), and San Antonio (Agdao). Lopez said they expected that there would be more barangays that will be classified under critical risk as it is evident with the current surge of cases. The official noted an uptick of cases beginning May this year after experiencing downtrend of cases from February to April this year. (With reports from CIO)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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