Mayor Sara expects surge in COVID-19 cases
SULTAN KUDARAT - An increase in the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is expected to be seen in the next coming weeks, said Mayor Sara Duterte on Tuesday.
This, she said during her interview aired on Davao City Disaster Radio, as the city government and health personnel have been able to conduct more tests for COVID-19.
The city mayor said medical doctors were expecting that the surge in the number of cases was likely to be observed next week, or within the second week of June.
“Because daghan naman ta ginaswab karon. And then, naa na pud tay protocol kung kinsa ang mga dapat iswab dapat. So, either ginapadala nato sila sa SPMC (Southern Philippines Medical Center) or diri sila gina-swab sa Tomas Monterverde nato na health center (Because we increased the number of being swabbed. And then, we already have a protocol on who should be swabbed. It is either they are sent to SPMC or they are swabbed here at our Tomas Monteverde health center),” Mayor Duterte said.
She also noted that the implementation of general community quarantine (GCQ) was also likely to be a factor that would contribute to the surge of positives in the city.
“That is the expectation that there will be an increase because of GCQ and it is important to immediately catch them. We will immediately find those who are positive and trace those who came in contact with and then they will immediately be tested,” Duterte added.
She also underscored that the increase in the number of COVID-19 positives in the city was not only because of the swabbing being conducted, but also because of the health screening processes being done in the city.
“Apil na dinha ang RDT (Rapid Diagnostic Testing) sa atoang mga communities. So anytime na duna tay masuspetsahan or criteria niya murag COVID, ginadiretso nato na sila for testing (That would include the RDT. Anytime that we have a suspect or the criteria (of symptoms) falls under COVID, they are directly subject for testing),” Mayor Duterte added.
Duterte made this disclosure as the Department of Health (DOH)Davao disclosed that it has recorded 20 new COVID-19 in Davao region on Tuesday.
As of 5 p.m., May 26, the DOHDavao Center for Health Development reported that 18 of the new cases were from Davao City, one was from Davao del Sur, and another from Davao Occidental.
These new cases brought to 273 the total number of COVID-19 cases in the region.
Duterte also explained that it remained a huge challenge to identify individuals that have to be tested as their history of contacts still needs to be traced.
“So ang ilahang natakdan, nakatakod na pud to. Mao nay importante sa atoa paspas ang testing ug contact tracing. Kay para pag nag-test positive, pangitaon dayon nato kung kinsa to iyahang mga natakdan or duna siyay contacts (Those who were infected is likely to have infected others, well. That is why it is important that we hasten our testing and contact tracing so that if they tested positive, we can immediately find those that have contracted with the virus),” Duterte said.
She also added that the process will not be easy as they would need to look for the history of interaction of the infected person within the last 14 days with other individuals.