Editorial: Self-regulate, have discipline

ON OCTOBER 26, Executive Order 59 took effect. The order lifts the 24-hour liquor ban and 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew in the city.

In the EO, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio said: "There is a need to ease and loosen restrictions following the decrease in the number of cases reported and the active vaccination rollout within the city."

The City has recently been ramping up its vaccination campaign against the Covid-19. For most vaccination sites, walk-ins are already allowed.

It also launched vaccination in the evenings and on weekends.

Drive-thru vaccination is also being implemented at the People's Park.

Through the office of the City Vice Mayor, the City is conducting mobile and house-to-house vaccinations.

Based on the October 20, 2021 data of the Davao City Vaccination Cluster, the City has already administered a total of 843,805 first doses of Covid-19 vaccines and 727,946 second doses.

Meanwhile, it can also be observed that active cases in Davao City have continued to decline. As of October 26, 2021, active cases dropped to 1,739. This is a massive drop from the 7,487 active cases on October 4, 2021.

The decrease in active cases is also reflected in the admitted cases at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the primary Covid-19 hospital in the city. As of October 25, 69 of the 111 ICU beds for Covid-19 patients are occupied or an occupancy rate of 62.16 percent, while 251 of the 472 ward beds are occupied or an occupancy rate of 53.18 percent.

This is an improvement from September and early October when the ICU and ward beds were mostly fully occupied.

The improvements in the vaccination roll-out, drop in active cases, and easing of restrictions are welcome development. We could say that with these developments, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. However, a lot could still happen as we make our way out of the tunnel.

With the easing of restrictions, people would be gathering more. Also, not everyone is fully vaccinated. Hence, the possibility of another Covid-19 surge.

Therefore, it is important for us to self-regulate and have the discipline to continue to follow the minimum health standards. This means that despite being vaccinated, we should still wear our face masks, regularly wash or sanitize our hands, and maintain social distancing. We must also limit our gatherings as much as possible because this kind of activity still has the risk of becoming a super spreader event.

For the unvaccinated, we encourage you to get vaccinated. Medical studies have shown that hospitalization among the vaccinated is less compared to the unvaccinated. Also, those who are vaccinated tend to be mild or asymptomatic cases. So, when it is your turn to be vaccinated or given the opportunity to get vaccinated, get the vaccine.

If we want to sustain our gains, we must also do our part in preventing another surge -- self-regulate and discipline ourselves.