DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Health officials in this region did not rule out that Davao region may hit 1,000 cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) infections by the end of July with the rise of cases reported day by day.
In an online press briefing, Dr. Leni Joy Rivera, assistant director of Department of Health Region 11, said the rising cases are due to the continuing entry of locally stranded individuals (LSI) and returning overseas workers, and also persons who had not followed quarantine measures.
Davao region has now recorded 912 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of July 17, with 42 deaths reported.
Davao City has the most number of cases in the region with 650, with 34 death tolls and 401 recovered cases.
Among the provinces in the region, Davao del Norte has the highest cases with 86, 4 deaths and 31 recovered; followed by Davao Oriental (68 confirmed cases, 1 death, 22 recovered), Davao de Oro (65 confirmed cases, 1 death and 14 recovered), Davao del Sur (34 cases, zero deaths, 26 recovered); and Davao Occidental (9 confirmed cases, 2 deaths and 2 recovered).
“As to projection, we can actually say that if there is a continuous increase in the number of cases daily we will really reach one thousand. It’s not impossible if we have this number of cases per day,” Dr. Rivera said.
Rivera said they have investigated 709 cases in this region to trace where the patients contracted the infection.
They found out that 358 patients were exposed to the virus in their own households while 212 patients have traveled to places outside the region.
There are 104 cases where they cannot identify where they contracted the virus but is most likely in areas with high rates of transmission.
Dr. Rivera said that aside from the entry of LSIs and overseas workers, other factors that led to the increase are the population density of some areas, sociological differences, and health practices of persons and communities.
Meanwhile, the City Government of Davao has made measures the past week to stop the rise of Covid-19 infections. They have required RCT-PR testing for persons coming in from flights, had isolated one barangay with high cases of Covid-19 and conducted testing on places with high incidents of transmission.
Dr. Rivera also explained that the recent claim of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III that the country has “successfully flattened the curve since April” meant that “the spread of the virus has slowed down”. (davaotoday.com)
