AN OFFICIAL from the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force confirmed that a business process outsourcing (BPO) company will be placed under lockdown due to the increasing number of cases.
Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser confirmed to SunStar Davao in a text message on Friday evening, May 28, that there has been an increasing number of cases at Teleperformance in the past few days.
Schlosser said that as of May 28, there were 46 active cases.
She said the city continues to monitor active cases through the city’s contact tracers and Safe Davao QR (DQR) Code logs.
"The company failed to provide and declare an honest and comprehensive close contact line list to the District Health Officer Contact Tracer where the office is located," Schlosser said.
She said that at present, the city's district health officer, sanitation team, police personnel, and barangay council are serving the lockdown notification effective immediately.
Meanwhile, the Davao City Government also on Friday evening announced that the entire Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) building will be on lockdown starting Monday, May 31, until June 6.
The following offices are those affected by the lockdown: City Treasurer’s Office, City Assessor’s Office, Business Bureau, City Civil Registrar’s Office, Vice Mayor’s Office, and Councilors Offices.
Those who have transactions are advised to drop their documents at the drop box in front of the SP Building.
For tax-related transactions at the Treasurer’s Office, Assessor’s Office, and Civil Registrar’s Office, individuals are advised to visit their respective district offices.
Stricter lockdowns
Meanwhile, Davao City Health Office (CHO) Acting Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said they will be stricter in implementing lockdowns not only in houses and compounds, but also in establishments to curb the spread of Covid-19 in workplaces.
Lopez said they will intensify their monitoring and lockdown implementation after they have noted that some establishments have repeatedly recorded cases.
He added that they already warned these establishments several times, but the management still failed to implement mitigating measures.
"Nakabantay mi nga usab-usab nalang ning kaso aning mga lugara. Naa tay mga establishmento nga sige nalang usab-usab, di mahutdan og kaso kay wala sila'y mitigating measures nga ginabuhat sa ilahang... isip mga kumpanya o mga lugar (We noticed that these places have been repeatedly recording cases. We also have establishments that never ran out of confirmed positive employees because they do not have mitigating measures)," Lopez said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
Lopez said they already recommended lockdown of several establishments. But he did not specifically elaborate these firms and the number.
The health official said this is in response to the continuous increase of Covid-19 cases in the city.
Based on the May 27 data on the Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao), Davao City has now a total of 16,388 confirmed Covid-19 cases, wherein 1,257 are active cases, 14,388 have recovered, and 743 have died.
DOH-Davao Director Dr. Annabelle Yumang said in a virtual presser that gatherings and hospital exposure as the primary source of Covid-19 transmissions.
Yumang said based on their reports, physical distancing is not observed especially during meal time in offices and establishments, when the number of participants exceeds the set maximum limit, and when face masks and face shields are not being properly worn.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio also noted this observation in her radio interview on Monday, May 24.
Duterte-Carpio also noted that there is now massive transmission in various workplaces such as government offices, banks, and even BPOs.
"[We have] various workplaces. Duna ta'y (We have) call centers, schools, government offices, and private offices," she said.
The mayor also noted clustering of cases in households and workplaces, which is also contributing to the cases in the city.
Lopez said the city has currently 140 house lockdowns, and two compound lockdowns.
As of now, he said they have not recommended any barangay lockdown.