DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 15 Dec) – Mayor Sara Duterte has advised Dabawenyos to ignore the rumor that Davao City will revert back to Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) this holiday season as the local government does not plan to enforce a city-wide lockdown to control the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation.
A personnel of the city government installs a tarpaulin reminding local residents to stay home during the holidays amid the rising COVID-19 cases in Davao City. MindaNews file photo
During her live interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5), the mayor said the city government is not discussing a city-wide lockdown although she acknowledged the possibility of another surge after the Christmas season due to mass gathering.
She said the city government wanted to manage the COVID-19 situation without shutting the economy.
Duterte said that even Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) frowned on a city-wide ECQ despite the surge.
“Let’s just stop all these talks about a city-wide lockdown because that will not happen. Our direction is, we want to manage COVID-19 with our economy open, and our offices, businesses, and establishments open,” she said.
In lieu of a city-wide lockdown, Duterte said what the city government can do is enforcing lockdowns on houses, streets, and compounds while residents who live there await results of their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests after their exposure to a COVID-19 case.
As of December 14, Department of Health-Davao reported a total of 10,836 COVID-19 cases in the region, with 2,272 active, 8,137 recoveries, and 427 deaths.
Of the total cases, Davao City reported 7,580, Davao de Oro with 535, Davao del Norte with 1,311, Davao del Sur with 800, Davao Occidental with 122, and Davao Oriental with 488.
Duterte reminded Dabawenyos to avoid attending Christmas parties to prevent exposure to the coronavirus, and to celebrate holidays with family members who live in the same household.
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. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)