Davao City braces for possible COVID-19 post election surge

“We're really bracing ourselves. If there is going to be a surge then we can attribute it to the recently-concluded election,” Schlosser said.

In a report from the City Information Office (CIO) Schlosser said they are hoping though that the city will keep its low COVID-19 positivity rate in the next 14 days.

The city recorded a 0.3 percent positivity rate on May 11 with one COVID-19 positive case among 305 swabbed individuals.

The other day, the city registered a zero positivity rate, she said.

"Hopefully, we can maintain the low positivity rate as we are also going to observe the number of cases after the election for the next two weeks since mass gatherings happened,” she further said.

“The incubation period of the virus is two weeks. We will see if there is a significant spike in our COVID-19 cases,” Schlosser said.

The city has retained its Alert Level 1 status since March. However, she said Dabawenyos should not be complacent as neighboring provinces such as Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, and Davao Occidental have kept their Alert Level 2 status. 

The high risk of COVID-19 transmission is possible, she said, as the interzonal movement or travel has not been restricted anymore.This means that those from the neighboring cities and provinces will most likely come to Davao City for commodities or leisure.

"There's a high chance that they can bring the virus here but we're hoping that it does not happen if we observe the proper wearing of face masks, hopefully, there will be no surge,” Schlosser said.

She said she hopes people are prepared for the surge by having themselves vaccinated and boostered.

The city continuously implement the Prevention, Detection, Isolation, Treatment, and Reintegration plus Vaccination (PDITR+) Strategies for COVID-19 whenever there is a surge.