ALL first-generation close contacts (F1) in Davao City are now required to undergo quarantine while waiting for their test results.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on April 20, 2021, issued Executive Order (EO) No. 20-A, Series of 2021, known as “An Order Providing For Mandatory Swabbing Of All F1, F2, and F3 Contacts Of An RT-PCR Confirmed Positive Case Of Covid-19 In Davao City.”
This is an amendment to EO 20, signed by Acting Mayor Sebastian Duterte issued on Thursday, April 8.
Section 2 of the EO states, “All F1 contacts should undergo quarantine while waiting for their test result. F2 and F3 contacts do not need to undergo quarantine while waiting for their test result.”
The EO cited the need to expand the testing of contacts beyond the F1 category as an attempt to control the transmission of the virus and to recalibrate strategies to prevent and control Covid-19 transmission in the city amid the surge in cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other areas of the country and also the emergence of new variants.
According to the EO, F1 contacts are those first-generation contacts of an RT-PCR confirmed Covid-19 positive case, while F2 contacts are those second-generation contacts of an RT-PCR confirmed Covid-19 positive case (close contacts of F1), and F3 contacts are those third-generation contacts of an RT-PCR confirmed Covid-19 positive case (close contacts of F2).
All F1, F2 and F3 contacts of an RT-PCR confirmed positive case are all mandated to undergo swab testing. The Contact Tracing Team or the District Health Office will determine the testing date.
Duterte-Carpio said in a previous interview that close contacts will now be notified through the Safe Davao QR (DQR) push notification that they will be subjected to testing.
F2 and F3 contacts were previously not subjected to testing and are only advised to self-monitor and isolate. They will only be tested once the F1 or an individual who had close contact with a Covid-19 patient will also test positive.
Meanwhile, the expansion of the contact tracing and swabbing is on top of the city’s intensified monitoring of its communities for those with influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms.
The World Health Organization defined ILI as an acute respiratory infection with the following: a measured fever of more than or equal to 38 degrees, cough, and onset within the last 10 days.
The city is set to establish "ILI and swab corner" in all district health centers.
Individuals who have ILI symptoms must be immediately referred to district swab centers or swab sites if not yet available. Those who have close contact with ILI patients must be monitored for signs and symptoms of ILI or Covid-19.