DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The City Government of Davao imposed a 14-day hard lockdown of Purok 8, Barangay Tomas Monteverde after 65 individuals tested positive of Covid-19 in their RT-PCR test.
The lockdown started Monday, August 17 at 1:30, which prohibits residents from going outside their community and outsiders from going in. The Davao City Covid-19 Task Force said the quarantine is meant “to preempt the possible massive spread of infection in the area due to confirmed positive cases.”
The public is also advised to refrain from going into the area, which is an urban poor community with some warehouses.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who also heads the task force, explained that they had expected high cases in Purok 8 as it is near Barangay Leon Garcia in Agdao, which was deemed a “high-risk area” based on risk assessment and the high Covid-19 cases among its residents.
Both communities are near the Agdao Public Market.
There are 417 individuals who are affected by the implementation of this hard lockdown, while the 65 persons diagnosed with Covid-19 have been taken to a facility for isolation and treatment.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) Davao showed the oldest persons infected in this purok are a 67-year-old male and female, and the youngest a one-month-old female infant. All three are asymptomatic.
The DOH Davao has yet to divulge how the local transmission happened. They noted that there were two dates that showed Barangay Monteverde had reported high cases: on August 11 with 29 cases, and on August 16 with 30 cases.
In the past months, other communities that have been put under lockdown are Purok 3, 4 and 7 of Barangay 23-C; Purok 8 of Barangay 21-C; and Purok Lipadas in Barangay Daliao which are densely populated communities of Davao City.
The city is placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) where there is ease of transportation and business, as long as the public follow physical distancing and wear face masks and shield in the public.
Davao City has recorded 1,144 confirmed cases as of August 17. (davaotoday.com)
