As Davao City sees declining Covid-19 cases and positivity rate in recent weeks, the city government has reiterated its call to Dabawenyos to get vaccinated and continue following the wearing of face masks, physical distancing, and frequent handwashing or use of alcohol-based hand rub for health safety.
Davao City Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser in an interview over the Davao City Disaster Radio Tuesday said that the city is now enjoying a lower positivity rate compared to the previous weeks. And, this is not due to low testing capacity, she said.
“Our daily COVID-19 is really going down. In fact, our daily positivity rate naa nalang ta sa 5.6 per cent as of October 25, this is desirable because our accepted na mababa na cases is actually 5 percent positivity rate. It is really a good number (Our daily Covid-19 is going down. In fact, our positivity rate is now at 5.6 percent as of October 25, this is desiderable because what is accepted as low is a 5 per cent positivity rate),” Schlosser said.
She also reported that the city has now enough testing capacity because the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), although not fully functional, is accepting specimens for testing.
She attributed the decline of the cases to the number of people who were already vaccinated against anti-Covid-19.
“We have necessary logistics for that this one talaga maka-ingon ka nga persistent na nagababa ang atong cases so we can attribute this also kay medyo ubay-ubay na-gyud ang nabakunahan no pero dili pa gyud siya enough to achieve herd immunity(We have necessary logistics for this one that we can say that the lowering down of our cases is persistent. So we can attribute this to the high number of people who were vaccinated though it is not enough to achieve herd immunity),” Schlosser added.
As of October 27, a total of 873,933 Dabawenyos already received their first dose, while 773, 647 their second dose.
All public vaccination sites already catering to the general public and accepting walk-ins. The Office of the Vice Mayor and the members of the City Council continue conducting mobile vaccination by barangay and the city is in process of gathering data of senior citizens for the door-to-door vaccination. It is also set to open pediatric vaccination for children.
The City Government of Davao uploads weekly the list of open vaccination sites and the type of vaccines available.
Schlosser advised the public to avail the vaccination drive of the city so that the status quo will be maintained.
“Ginapasayon na nato sa ilaha aron ma-avail nila ang vaccination sa pinaka-dool sa ilaha, I hope na i-take na nila nga opportunity para mapadayon ang pagbaba sa atong cases and of course ang pinaka-epektibo gihapon ang pag-follow nato og minimum health standards, so padayon nga mag-wear og mask, padayon nga mag-avoid og crowded places, social distancing kanunay, and hand hygeine- wash your hand or bring your alcohol all the time (We are making this easier for the people by making the vaccines available in the sites near them. I hope they will take this as opportunity to continue lower the cases and of course [practice] the most effective way [to prevent the infection] that is to follow the minimum health standards-wearing of mask, continued avoidance of crowded places, social distancing and hand hygiene- wash your hands or bring your alcohol all the time),” Schlosser said. CIO