DAVAO CITY –— The recent spike of new Coronavirus -19 cases are mostly from locally stranded individuals or from returning overseas Filipinos, a trend which local government units accept as reality but they embrace their constituents because they have the facility.
Aside from the considered hotspots in the previous reports, there are towns and villages which recently recorded new positive cases and these are mostly from LSIs and ROFs if the DOH reports will be made the basis.
As of July 2, Davao region has recorded 565 cases, of which 165 (29%) is active, 367 (65%) have recovered, and, 33 (6%) deaths.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health regional office released the results of the still updated test which yielded 31 new COVID-19 cases.
Of which, 19 from Davao City, 7 from Davao del Norte and 5 from Davao de Oro. Seventeen (17) are male while fourteen (14) are female, the oldest is 66 years old from Calinan, Davao City while the youngest is 14 years old from Brangay 23-C, Davao City.
Since March to May 31, Island Garden City of Samal never had a positive case, but when the COVID-19 regional task force decided to accept returning residents via the “Mercy Flights’, the once “COVID-Free” island registered its first positive case.
Hosting the LSIs/ROFs
Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) Mayor Al David Uy in an interview with Newsline said his city welcomes returning residents “Because they are our people and we have the facilities to house them during their arrival.”
The isolation facility in Samal and in Davao del Norte are mostly local hotels or offices, every client is given free food by the LGUs.
In Samal, Uy said, every LSIs or ROFs will be housed in the isolation facility upon arrival “Our room accommodation depends on their category. If they are one family of three (3) they stay together in a room because they stayed together from their point of origin, but for individuals, they are given separate rooms, after which, they will undergo swab test, if they are negative, they will be transferred to another isolation facility to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine and for those who yield a positive result, they will be brought to the Southern Philippine Medical Center (SPMC) for confinement.
As of July 2, Samal has registered 15 positive cases, of which 11 are active cases, three deaths, and one recovered.
“The three new cases include two LSIs who traveled by land from Metro Manila and one returning OFW,” he revealed.
When asked if people of Samal are scared of the new development, Uy said, “We informed them that those who arrived belongs to us, and we must accept them in our island, and they should not worry because they follow stringent health protocol. After all, they are Samaleños coming home”.
The first case of San Isidro town in Davao del Norte according to the municipal information office is patient 557, male, 23 years old, from sitio Dayuan, Barangay Dacudao, a native of Pampanga and worked in Metro Manila but got married to a resident of said town.
Patient 557 arrived in said town with his wife on June 14 via Air Asia Flight 22481, was placed in the isolation facility, and, underwent swab test on June 27 and the result was released on July 1. He is asymptomatic. He is now in an isolation facility of said town.
Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib said his province has established enough isolation facilities in every town to house the LSIs and the ROFs “We are not scared to accept them, this is the time when we show them how government takes care of its people-the most valuable resources on earth, we provide them comfort while in isolation.”
Henry Garteciano, an OFW from Denmark, in an interview with Newsline said, their group is composed of 14 male workers who arrived in the country on May 1, and they were billeted in a hotel in Manila.
While waiting for his flight to Davao he was isolated in a hotel room “We were not allowed to go out from our rooms, the food will just be delivered at the doorstep, I was alone for 23 days waiting for our flight because were advised by OWWA not to expose ourselves to anyone”.
On May 23, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to send home all returning OFWs, and on May 24, Henry arrived in Davao, but he underwent a rapid test at the Manila airport where is tested negative.
Upon his arrival in Davao, he showed his RPT result and he was brought to his house for the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Henry said, “I am so thankful that I have not been infected and I was immediately reunited with my family”.
Uy said the majority of the new cases are either LSIs or ROFs “This is the reality. What matters most is the readiness of the LGUs to accept their constituents and the facilities established to fight coronavirus”.
Newest cases
On Wednesday the DOH Xi released the profile of the 31 new cases in Davao region.
For the 19 new cases from Davao City, here are the Barangays and number of cases: 23-C (10); 76-A (2); 19-D (1); Binugao (1); Calinan (1); Dumoy (1); Tigatto (1); no specific barangay in the city (2).
In the Province of Davao del Norte which registers seven (7) , the following barangays from different towns have registered new cases : Cogon, Babak, Island Garden City of Samal (2); Limao, Island Garden City of Samal (1); Cagangohan, Panabo City (1); Cambanogoy, Asuncion, Davao del Norte (1); Dacudao, San Isidro, Davao del Norte (1) and; Magupising, Braulio Dujali, Davao del Norte (1).
For the province of Davao de Oro, the new cases are from: Teresa, Maco (1); Malamodao, Maco (2); Elizalde, Maco (1) and, Poblacion, Maragusan (1).
Most of the new cases are from the municipalities with no previous case, until the government started to accept LSIs and ROFs.
Samal is now under MGCQ status, but according to Uy, regardless of the quarantine status “Everyone must strictly observe the protocol because life is precious and everyone must cherish it by staying at home and practicing proper hygiene and in going out follow the advice of health experts”.
Intervention activities to address the social cost of the pandemic exhausts the coffer in great magnitude. Hence, the government budget needs to defray every cost including feeding of the LSIs and ROF, and the cost of medication and burial-Editha Z. Caduaya/Newsline
