MORE than one month after the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hit the entire Davao Region, several measures were imposed to contain the further spread of the virus.
On the evening of March 15, the Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao) confirmed its first coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive patient.
The female was identified as a 21-year-old patient from the United Kingdom with layover in Doha, Qatar to Manila then to Davao on February 29. She would soon recover and be released on March 23.
Following the confirmation, DOH-Davao has heightened its measures to prevent potential local transmission. Contact tracing was immediately done to her families and friends whom she had close contact with to ensure that they were not infected.
The confirmation also triggered the local government units of Davao City and Tagum City to issue a joint statement on the partial lockdown of the two largest cities in the region.
Days before the closure, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, the chairperson of the Covid regional task force, had already issued a series of executive orders to prepare the city for what would seem to be a step towards a community quarantine.
Duterte-Carpio, through an Executive Order No. 10 series of 2020, placed the entire Davao City under community quarantine on the evening of March 15. The city is the first local government unit to impose such community quarantine.
However, she was hesitant to impose a “total lockdown” as it would gravely affect not only the city, but the entire region.
Several local government units had followed suit. However, provisions were not unified, causing confusion and inconveniences of residents who wish to travel in and out their respective jurisdiction.
This resulted in the Davao Region Covid-19 Task Force to issue a resolution for the closure of the region’s border, effective March 19, and at the same time provide guidelines on travel within the region. This includes the suspension of land, sea, and air travels to help contain the spread of the virus.
The task force includes the Regional Peace and Order Council and Regional Development Council of Davao Region. Both councils are composed of provinces Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental and Davao de Oro.
Enhanced community quarantine
Since the first level of the quarantine was imposed, ordinances such as the closure of some non-essential establishments, imposition of liquor ban, and curfew were issued to encourage residents to stay indoors.
Admittedly, the health consultants that the city and the regional task force consulted were not satisfied by community quarantine as cases continue to rise.
On March 30, Duterte-Carpio confirmed that based on the recent data issued by DOH, there is already a local transmission of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the city and the region.
The “ground zero” of the local transmission was pointed to a cockderby fight held from March 7, 10, and 12 in the New Davao Matina Gallera in Davao City.
Based on the April 10 data of the DOH-Davao, 25 persons of those who were infected with Covid-19 went to the gallera. This makes the gallera an epicenter of cases in Davao Region. However, cases linked to the gallera were not limited to Davao Region only.
Data from regional DOH offices and health offices of local government units on the island of Mindanao have reported cases that were linked to the gallera. This include reports from Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm).
As of April 11, DOH-Davao was also able to contact trace 717 individuals who had a history of exposure to confirmed cases linked to the New Davao Matina Gallera - 174 from Davao City, 238 from Davao del Norte, 135 from Davao del Sur, 90 from Davao Oriental, 29 from Davao Occidental, five from Davao de Oro, while 46 from other regions.
With the local transmission, Duterte-Carpio had elevated the entire city under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) beginning 9 p.m. of April 4. Under the ECQ, a 24-hour liquor ban, and an earlier curfew was set.
This was based on a Regional resolution the city adapted for the implementation of the ECQ.
Other local government units in the region, especially other key cities in the region such as Tagum and Panabo were also placed under ECQ.
Covid-19 numbers in the region
Based on the Regional Situation Update on Covid-19 in Davao Region as of 5 p.m. on April 13, DOH-Davao reported two more people who have successfully recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 52.
The total number of cases in the region remained at 90.
Davao City has the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases with 74 followed by Davao del Norte with nine, Davao Oriental (3), Davao de Oro (2), and Davao del Sur (2) while Davao Occidental has not yet recorded a single patient positive for the dreaded disease.
SPMC reported no cases on April 11 and 12 because they did not conduct testing in observance of the Holy Week. When they resumed their testing on Monday, no new case was reported.
SPMC chief of hospital Leopoldo Vega said that based on the recent developments, they are confident that they were able to contain the spread of Covid-19 with the strict implementation of the ECQ, and social distancing.
“Probably, this containment can optimistically proceed, hoping the next few weeks, we could see good results and right conditions of the gradual lifting of the quarantine,” Vega said in a virtual presser of the Philippine Information Agency.
The regional lockdown is set to end on April 20. Duterte-Carpio said they will decide their next move during a meeting with doctors today.
Faster Covid-19 testing
SPMC, after it was certified by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) as a subnational laboratory and later on allowed to independently conduct testing and release results on the level, data sharing has improved.
Vega said they are using a Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) machine to process the specimen of the patients under investigation. An average of 60 to 80 swab samples can be processed in a day and SPMC can release the results within 24 hours unlike before when results come out only after a week since samples have to be sent to Manila.
The presence of local testing in the region has resulted in the sudden spike of cases as more patients are tested and the backlog has been addressed.
With the faster releasing of results, the congestion problem in their facility was solved since they can discharge right away patients if they turned out negative.
On March 27, SPMC received a total of 5,000 Covid-19 testing kits. As of Monday, April 13, almost 2,000 samples have been tested in their facility conducted by trained medical technologists. Only SPMC is capable of conducting testing in Mindanao.