DAVAO Region saw a significant drop in Covid-19 positivity rate with 1,552 cases recorded in November, based on the monthly case count of the Department of Health-Davao (DOH-Davao).
Comparatively, Davao Region recorded 24,789 cases in September, the highest so far for the year 2021, and 8,997 cases recorded in October.
According to Dr. Rachel Joy Pasion, head of Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit of DOH-Davao, the downward trend of cases can be attributed to the intensified vaccination drives of the government.
“We could really see on our data that meron talagang effect ang ating vaccination campaign since there is really a decreasing trend in our cases,” Pasion said during a virtual presser hosted by DOH-Davao on December 6, 2021.
About 90.62 percent of the current active cases are unvaccinated while the rest are partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated, as per the DOH official.
“For the fully vaccinated, the majority are healthcare workers,” said Pasion. “That’s why we give the booster doses to our healthcare workers.”
Pasion said that on average, Davao Region’s positivity rate is below the threshold of the World Health Organization (WHO) for low transmission of infection.
Davao region reportedly reached a positivity rate of more than 20 percent due to the recent surge, before dropping back to 1.7 percent.
“Ang positivity rate natin is a good indicator that there is really a decreasing in the transmission of infection,” said the DOH official.
The latest data of DOH-Davao also showed 958 active cases out of 104,282 total cases in the region, wherein Tagum City recorded the highest active cases with 131.
However, despite the downward trend on cases, Pasion urges the public to continue practicing the minimum public health standards especially in light of the emerging Omicron variant.
“We shall not be lenient on this since meron tayong new VOC (variant of concern) na na-detect,” she said.
DOH-Davao hopes that through their intensified vaccination campaign, the region will reach herd immunity before the holiday season.