DAVAO CITY — The brief lull in enforcing the community quarantine in Manila last month appeared to have spread the contagion to the provinces faster than those persons who carried the infection from infected countries where they came, a regional Department of Health (DOH) data indicate.
Despite that, the regional management of the disease appeared to be on good sailing, when the number of those who have recovered here from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection outpaced the number of those who died, the same DOH data said. But sadly, it said, three new primary frontliners were infected and two of them have been hospitalized.
DOH data on Covid-19 positive patients have reached 61, the biggest number of whom were accounted by this city, at 49, although 24 have remained. Those who came from Manila, including those who scampered to get out and flee the lockdown, accounted for the biggest number at 18, followed by the next controversial single source of contamination, the multimillion multi-cock derby at the Matina Galleria at 12 positive cases.
Currently, there are 34 Covid-19 positive patients that have remained at the Southern Philippines Medical Center and the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City, and seven of them have travel history, or have worked in Manila.
Two of the nine deaths to Covid-19 infection also have history of travel in Manila.
Manila is about to end its community quarantine in the middle of this month, and the Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, expressed apprehension that lifting it this early, as cases of infection continue to spike, would increase the risk of spreading further the contagion.
“We don’t know yet how Manila would decide on the end of its quarantine. But I believe the swarms of people that would be going to the provinces are definitely carrying the infection and expose the provinces for another bout of containment,” she said.
Duterte-Carpio said they have prepared a containment program to ensure a rapid and faster tracing of any emergence of contamination as a consequence of people from Manila and those from abroad taking the Manila airport in going here.
As Davao City enforced an enhanced quarantine beginning on Saturday night, health officials here hoped that this would help pull down an estimated doubling of cases as plotted from an epidemiological projection study of the pattern of admission since last month.
The single-biggest source of contamination came from the unguarded holding of a multimillion-peso cockfight at the Matina Galleria from March 9 to 13 held supposedly in parallel celebration of the Araw ng Dabaw on March 16.
Duterte-Carpio has already suspended all mass gathering during the Araw ng Dabaw celebration as early as February to comply with the DOH warning against mass gathering.
The mayor disclosed, however, that the holding of the cockfight was granted permit by the City Council. “We already discussed it with the Regional Task Force on Covid-19, and some councilors, who told us that they would retrieve the documents from the council, which gave its nod for the holding of such activity,” she said.
Dr. Cleo Fe Tabada, regional DOH epidemiology unit, said they have about 400 possible persons to be contacted although persons familiar with the operation of the cockpit said as many as 3,000 persons commonly flock to regular weekend cockfighting in the building.
She said other informants were volunteering the identity of more persons who were at the cockpit during those times.