DAVAO City's average daily positivity rate continues to decline from around 20 percent to 15 percent.
Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said in a radio interview on Friday, October 15, 2021, that there has been a continuous downtrend of the city's positivity rate.
"Persistent naman siya na nagapababa pero again, dili gihapon ta magkumpyansa because usa ta makaingon nga gamay na lang gyud is kung maabot nato ang five percent positivity rate," Schlosser said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
(There is a persistent decline of our positivity rate, but again, we should not be complacent because before we can say that the Covid-19 cases are declining, we must be able to achieve the five-percent positivity rate.)
According to the metrex of the World Health Organization, the ideal target daily positivity rate of a certain locality must lower down to five percent to say that the Covid-19 cases are manageable.
She said while the number is still high, the slight improvement of the recorded average positivity rate is already "good news," which reflects the improving Covid-19 situation in the city.
She added this is an improvement to the previous months, wherein the city reached a peak of 30 percent average daily positivity rate in September this year.
Schlosser said the public must continue to abide with the minimum health protocols amid the continuous increase of the number of vaccinated Dabawenyos.
The official also encouraged individuals to have themselves vaccinated.
"This is one of the strategies... Isa sa pinakaepektibong strategy para mu-protect sa tao (one of the most effective strategies to protect the public) against Covid-19," the spokesperson said.
Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the city's main Covid-19 referral hospital in the city, is also experiencing a downtrend of admitted Covid-19 patients.
SPMC Chief Dr. Ricardo Audan told SunStar Davao in a recent interview that they experienced a decline of admitted patients since the city allowed home isolation.
Audan also revealed that the downtrend of cases can also be attributed to the growing number of vaccinated individuals.
Based on the October 13 data of SPMC, 79 of its 111 intensive care unit (ICU) beds for Covid-19 patients are occupied or have a utilization rate of 71.17 percent, while 304 out of 517 ward beds are occupied, with a 58.80 percent utilization rate.
In September 2021, SPMC had been experiencing an overwhelming number of Covid-19 admissions leading it to expand its bed allocation for Covid-19 patients. Despite the additional ward and ICU beds, the hospital continued to experience beds reaching full occupancy.