Davao City has been placed under community quarantine effective Sunday, March 15, 2020, amid threats posed by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Although the city has no confirmed case of COVID-19 as yet, Mayor Sara Duterte issued Executive Order 10 stating there is “a need immediately to be aggressive and proactive on the impending spread of COVID-19,” noting that “there are limited testing kits and results take too long to become available.”
The mayor described “community quarantine” as “a step away from lockdown.”
Early Sunday evening, the Department of Health regional office announced the region’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 confined at the isolation room of the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City, a 21-year old female who had traveled from United Kingdom to Davao via Doha in Qatar and Manila.
Following this report, the mayors of Davao and Tagum cities issued a joint statement ordering a “partial lockdown” between the neighboring cities.
Mayor Duterte then issued EO 11 declaring and ordering a “partial lockdown in Lasang checkpoint” at the boundary with Davao del Norte, barring the entry of public and private vehicles from Tagum City. “Residents of Tagum City who are working in Davao City will not be allowed to enter Davao City,” the EO said.
MindaNews went around the city on Monday, March 16, supposedly the 83rd Araw ng Dabaw, usually a holiday of merrymaking and parades in the city but last month, all activities in the run-up to and during the Araw ng Dabaw itself had been cancelled.
Here are some photos of a city under “community quarantine” on Araw ng Dabaw.
A portion of the highway in Tibungco, Davao City is empty of its usual jeepneys and delivery trucks from the factories in the area on 16 March 2020 as Davao City is placed under community quarantine amid threats of COVID-19 infection. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A motorcycle and a truck are ordered to head back to Davao del Norte by soldiers of the Task Force Davao manning a security checkpoint in Lasang, Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Task Force Davao operatives check licenses and identification cards of motorcycle drivers at a security checkpoint in Lasang, Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Soldiers belonging to Task Force Davao screen passengers at a checkpoint in Lasang, Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Soldiers belonging to Task Force Davao screen passengers at a checkpoint in Lasang, Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A lone taxi is parked at the queuing bay of Davao International Airport in Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Rows of unused baggage carts line up the arrival area of Davao International Airport in Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
The main entrance for departures at the Davao International Airport on 16 March 2020 is unusually without a long queue of passengers as flights to and from Manila are suspended as Metro Manila has been placed on community quarantine. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A motorcycle rider travels on an unusually empty Diversion Road in Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Normally teeming with travelers bound for other areas in Mindanao, only a few passengers could be seen at the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal in Ecoland, Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A few jeepneys and public utility vehicles ply Magallanes Street in Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A man walks by San Pedro Cathedral along an almost empty San Pedro Street, a main throughfare of Davao City, on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A man wearing a surgical mask crosses the intersection of San Pedro and CM Recto Streets in Davao City on 16 March 2020. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A sign announces the temporary closure of the People’s Park in Davao City on 16 March 2020. Under the community quarantine guidelines of Davao City all public parks and playgrounds are closed to discourage the gathering of people and prevent possible COVID-19 infection. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A single jeepney plies along an empty Roxas Avenue in Davao City on 16 March 2020. Davao City has ordered the temporary halt of the operation of the Roxas Night Market until the public health emergency brought about by COVID-19 is lifted. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
A church in Davao City announces the temporary suspension of masses. The suspension started on Sunday, 15 March 2020. Davao City under its community quarantine guidelines has discouraged the holding of religious activities where people can converge, to prevent COVID-19 infection. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
