Photo credit: PNA
TEN OVERSEAS Filipino Workers (OFWs) who returned to the Philippines on repatriation flights via Davao City were positive of the Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Of the 10 OFWs, three were repatriated from Dhaka Bangladesh, and seven from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This was disclosed on Monday by Mayor Sara Duterte during her regular program on the Davao City Disaster Radio.
“They were already placed on the designated temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs) for OFWs,” Mayor Sara said.
The mayor added that the city will refer the cases to the Department of Health regarding its protocol in identifying close contacts in the flights.
Based on the available information, some of the passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 are asymptomatic, others are showing mild symptoms while others are needing medical care.
The OFWs positive of COVID-19 were among the Filipinos who arrived at the Davao International Airport on separate flights on July 15 and July 18.
As part of arrival protocols, the passengers were swabbed 48 hours before the flight and were required to present negative RTPCR results under City Ordinance No. 0477-21, Series of 2021 or the Mandatory Testing Prior to Entry into the Davao City via the Davao International Airport.
As part of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the OFWs and ROFs were required to undergo a 14-day quarantine in Davao City before proceeding to their final destinations.
In the quarantine facility, OFWs and ROFs are situated on the higher floors. For instance, if the designated hotel has ten floors; only the seventh to the tenth floor shall be occupied. The elevators will be limited only to the floors without the occupants.
Online vax scheduler set to on go full swing
Meanwhile, the local government is set to fully operationalize the online vaccination scheduler under the existing Davao City QR system after a final pilot test this week.
Duterte said that the DQR team is almost ready to fully operate the vaccine scheduler and a pilot testing is set this week for its operationalization.
“The data need ng vaccination cluster for scheduling is already incorporated in the system, and they will pilot test for priority group this Thursday and Friday,” she said, adding that once it is done the final form of this system will be released next week.
Once fully operational, the availability of the schedule will be based on the dates and location identified by the vaccination cluster. The team also aims to include an explainer video on how to use the DQR vaccination scheduler to be carried out by the City Information Office.
Notifications and updates are posted at the City Government of Davao for the information of second doses.
For July 23-August 11, schedules for second doses for AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sinovac had been are posted on the city government’s Facebook Page.
As many Davaoeños expressed their interest to be vaccinated, Duterte is thankful for all who believe in the vaccines and are aiming to contribute to the COVID-19 response. “There is still a lot for scheduling. The good news is the DQR team aims to finalize the system next week,” she said.
She requested those who are not under the current priority groups to wait for their turn as the city targets to vaccinate even those who are regular citizens.
As of the latest information for vaccination roll out as of July 25, 2021, the city government already vaccinated a total of 330,945 for the first dose and 149, 122 for the second dose. The city aims to fully vaccinate 1.2 million residents to reach herd immunity.
