COVID-19 cases in Davao City may rise after a two-week incubation period since the elections concluded on Monday, May 9, 2022, according to Davao City Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser.
"If ang mga tao naga-wonder kanusa kaya mag surge after what had happened sa atong eleksyon. Usually kasi ang incubation period of the virus is two weeks so mahilbalan nato if naay pagtaas sa atong cases after two weeks (If the people are wondering when the surge will happen after the elections, the incubation period of the virus is usually two weeks so we will know if there will be an increase in the cases by then)," Schlosser said during a radio interview on Wednesday, May 11.
As of May 11, Schlosser said Davao City recorded a 0.3 positivity rate on May 11, with one positive case out of 305 swabbed individuals. There were also some days that the city recorded zero daily cases, such as May 10 and 8, but there were three cases reported on May 9.
Schlosser hopes that the Covid-19 cases will remain low in the coming days, but in anticipation of the surge after two-weeks, the Covid-19 Task Force official advises Dabawenyos to have their booster dose vaccination immediately.
"Nagpabilin man gihapon mubo ang atong positivity rate pero ang anticipation of the effects sa akatong nilabay sa eleksyon will be felt siguro after two weeks but we are all hoping na dili na mahitabo but if in case mahitabio na, before na mahitabo, mamahlihog mi magpabakuna na intawon ta ninyo (Our cases are still low, but we are anticipating to feel the effects of the election after two weeks but hopefully before that happens, we should get our vaccination)," she said.
At the same time, Schlosser reported that Covid-19 cases in Davao City did not increase after the Holy Week celebrations, even though people engaged in public activities. She said it was because people were diligently wearing their face masks.
"Siguro at the time katong nag activity ta, nagpabilin man gud ang mga tao na naga-wear og face masks. That is one good example na isa sa mga makaprotektar sa atoa from the transmission of the virus is ang pag wear ofg face mask (At the time when we were having our activities, people were still wearing their face masks. This is one good example of how we can protect ourselves from the transmission of the virus)," she said.
Although it was lifted via Executive Order No. 11 Series of 2022, physical social distancing was implemented for a day during the May 9 elections as an extra precautionary measure given that many Dabawenyos were out to cast their votes.
However, Schlosser said it was not followed diligently, but she hoped that people were still wearing their face masks properly since it wards off the coronavirus disease.
Davao City remained under Alert Level 1 since March while neighboring provinces of Davao del norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, and Davao Occidental ascended to Alert Level 2.
With this, Schlosser reminds that high transmission of Covid-19 is still imminent. (ICM)