![[Analysis] Why are cases soaring in the Philippines, one year into the pandemic?](https://davaotoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DT-Alae-checkpoint-850x636.jpg)
On April 2, new cases surged to 15,310, the highest reported single-day tally in the country and in Southeast Asia since the start of the pandemic. Although the Department of Health (DOH) said this included the backlog of 3,709 cases from March 31, these figures look worse still. How did we get here and what are the ways forward?
New COVID-19 cases in the city has declined in the past weeks with 335 active cases. With 23 new recoveries reported, the total recoveries pushed to12,733, while three new fatalities raised the death toll to 670.
The Davao City Government will be expanding its COVID-19 testing and “surveillance” of communities with COVID-19 cases to address the possible new surge of new variants.
Beaches and resorts in Davao City will be closed to the public during the Holy Week from April 1 to 4 as ordered by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to prevent public gatherings that might transmit COVID-19.
The Davao City Health Office had vaccinated half of the city’s frontline health workers with the first tranche of vaccines against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and will await for the next tranche of vaccines in April.
The City Government of Davao has re-imposed the mandatory RT-PCR testing for incoming passengers in the Davao International Airport, one of the city’s efforts to prevent the “second wave” of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Travel restrictions such as the requirement for COVID-19 testing will be eased all over the country, as Davao City officials assure they will conduct clinical assessment of passengers and community testing to allay fears of the spread of the virus.
Amid the rollout of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine in Davao City over the weekend, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio declined to comment on getting herself inoculated, instead she dealt on the need to inform the public on the importance of getting the vaccine shots.
A human rights lawyer who is among the co-counsel of a petition to the Supreme Court against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 was stabbed in the head on Wednesday March 3, prompting colleagues to raise concern.
Around 6,000 frontline workers of the Southern Philippine Medical Center, which is the main center for the coronavirus treatment in Davao Region, will be the first to receive vaccination from the CoronaVac developed by Beijing-based pharmaceutical Sinovac Biotech. The rollout will take place this Friday.
