SIXTY-NINE individuals from Barangay Tomas Monteverde in Agdao District were evacuated and brought to a temporary treatment and monitoring facility (TTMF) after testing positive for coronavirus, an official said.
Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) head Angel Sumagaysay told SunStar Davao on Tuesday, August 18, that the figure was an increase from the 65 that were earlier reported by the City Government.
All of the 65 are from Purok 8.
But in the latest update Sumagaysay received, the number surged to 69; 66 of them are from Purok 8, while the other three come from two unidentified puroks but still in Tomas Monteverde, who were all brought to isolation facilities after testing positive for coronavirus.
Sumagaysay said it is still premature to say if Purok 8 is the "epicenter" of the Covid-19 transmission in the barangay.
Purok 8 of Tomas Monteverde is currently placed under a 14-day hard lockdown since 1 p.m. of Monday, August 17, due to the large number of confirmed cases recorded in the area.
Sumagaysay, meanwhile, said a house lockdown was implemented in the residences of the three individuals.
The PSSCC head that said as of Tuesday, August 18, they have not received any untoward incident since they placed the area on lockdown.
The residents were also cooperative with the mandatory lockdown, as the barangay and purok officials have already informed them of the lockdown's purpose, he added.
"On the part of the security, igo ra namo ginapatuman ang health protocols ni CHO (City Health Office) (we are just imposing the health protocols set by CHO)," Sumagaysay said.
CHO is one of the lead city offices in-charge in monitoring the city's Covid-19 health response, especially when there is an imposed community or localized lockdown.
Sumagaysay said the city is also on the lookout for a possible increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in neighboring puroks, of which might result in a possible expansion of the lockdown coverage.
He said the expansion of Purok 8's lockdown period would depend on the situation on the ground.
"Depende pa na sa contact tracing nga gina-conduct sa atong City Health (It will still depend on the result of the City Health's contact tracing efforts)," Sumagaysay said.
Purok 8 residents who were not able to return to their residence when the lockdown was imposed might also be subjected to health screening, upon recommendation from CHO.
For now, he said there are no reported barangays who might be subjected to a barangay-wide lockdown, similar to 23-C back in July this year.
Barangay Monteverde has recorded 65 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) from August 1 to 17, based on the patient profile from the Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao).
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday that the surge in the local transmission was not surprising since Purok 8 is adjacent to Barangay Leon Garcia Sr., another area with many Covid-19 cases.
Duterte-Carpio reported that 417 individuals are affected by the lockdown. They will be receiving food ration and psychosocial intervention from the local government.
Based on the City's Covid-19 Risk Assessment Map from August 15 to 21, 23-C and Monteverde are the only barangays in the city under "very high risk" classification.
The mayor reiterated her call to avoid visiting "very high risk" areas for the meantime.