DAVAO Region recorded 25,218 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the first few weeks of 2022.
Based on the latest data of the Department of Health (DOH)-Davao, as of February 3, the region tallied 22,848 cases in January and 2,370 in the first few days of February.
Dr. Rachel Pasion, unit head of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit of DOH-Davao, said the first few weeks of 2022 had seen more cases than the first quarter of 2021 wherein only 9,013 cases were recorded from January to March.
“There is really an increasing trend in comparison with 2020 and 2021,” said Pasion during a virtual presser on Friday, February 4, 2022.
As of February 3, the active Covid-19 cases in the region were at 12,377. Most of the active cases were concentrated in Davao City with 5,372 cases, followed by Davao del Norte with 3,244 cases and Davao del Sur with 1,657.
The rest of the provinces had less than 1,000 cases each. Davao de Oro had 976 cases, Davao Oriental had 627, and Davao Occidental had 501.
According to Pasion, Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur had the most cases in November and December 2021 but Davao City exceeded them by the start of the new year.
“Right now Davao City is still the center of our Covid-19 infection here in Region 11 (Davao),” said Pasion.
In addition, more than 90 percent or 12,144 active cases were asymptomatic or exhibited mild symptoms. A total of 184 manifested moderate symptoms, while 33 were severe and 16 were critical.
Pasion said the majority of the active cases, specifically 82.69 percent, were unvaccinated while 16.57 percent and 0.74 percent were fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated, respectively.
Of this, 41 unvaccinated patients were in severe and critical condition, while 10,397 were asymptomatic or had mild to moderate symptoms.
Among the fully and partially vaccinated individuals, only six patients were in severe to critical conditions, 848 had mild to moderate symptoms, and 1,331 were asymptomatic.
With this development, 62.3 percent of intensive care unit beds in the region were occupied as of February 3, leaving 86 beds available. Meanwhile, ward beds and isolation beds were 63.2 percent and 58.9 percent occupied, respectively. A total of 295 wards beds and 351 isolation beds remained unoccupied.
On the other hand, 50.4 percent of mechanical ventilators were used, leaving 62 out of 119 available.
Pasion said the utilization of the critical care facilities, along with the two-week growth rate and average daily attack rate, is a crucial parameter in determining the alert level of a certain area.