DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 16 Dec) – Five additional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing sites have been established here to boost efforts of the local government to detect more confirmed cases, according to Davao City Health COVID-19 focal person Ashley Lopez.
Testing for COVID-19 in Davao City. MindaNews file photo by MANMAN DEJETO
He said during a live interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Wednesday the local government hopes that more people, particularly close contacts of COVID-19 cases, will get access to the virus test with the addition of new testing centers in Barangay Daliao in Toril, Barangay Ilang in Tibungco, Mintal, Matina Aplaya, and Barangay 76-A Bucana.
Lopez said that they also hope to decongest the swabbing site in Sta. Ana Health Center, minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission among the clients.
The center, where most individuals contact-traced are referred to for swabbing, caters to an average of 500 clients a day, according to Lopez.
He added that swabbing at the new centers is not intended for mass testing as these are for targeted populations, including individuals with exposure to COVID-19 cases.
“This is not mass swabbing. We don’t believe in mass swabbing. Only those in the list of the contact-tracing report will be allowed there. If you are someone who is a COVID-19 suspect, that you think you’ve been exposed to or suffering from symptoms of COVID-19, you can go directly to the swab areas and undergo a case investigation,” Lopez said.
As of December 15, Department of Health-Davao reported a total of 10,967 COVID-19 cases in the region, with 2,157 active, 8,377 recoveries, and 433 deaths.
Of the total cases, Davao City reported 7,680, Davao de Oro with 552, Davao del Norte with 1,316, Davao del Sur with 804, Davao Occidental with 122, and Davao Oriental with 483.
Davao City reverted to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from Modified GCQ last November 20 to 30, and has been extended until the end of this year.
During the aggressive community testing from December 1 to 3 in the city, Lopez said that 206 out of 1,400 test samples yielded positive results.
“Based on that report, there was a high positivity rate from that activity, which means that we still have cases among our several barangays,” he added. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)