Mayor Sara Duterte has identified Buhangin and Talomo District as the city’s hotspot areas due to the large number of COVID-19 cases.
Talomo topped the districts with confirmed cases. As of April 18, it has 28 cases, followed by Buhangin with 24. However, the latter is considered riskier considering the three new cases since April 9.
In contrast, Talomo only had one additional case during that period.
“There are areas in Buhangin (district) that are somewhat far. Those areas near the Poblacion area are those with COVID-19 cases. If we based it on an alert level, the district is now on red alert,” Mayor Sara Duterte said in an interview with Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday
This was the basis for the clustering system, which divides the administrative districts into groups. Residents are not allowed to go out of their clusters at the risk of getting arrested.
“We did not create the clustering for the purpose of fun. We planned it for the sake of all the people. We created such move because some areas have increasing problems regarding COVID-19, and we want to protect other areas in this kind of situation,” she said.
She also asked for the cooperation of everybody, even if there would be an adjustment period.
“What we want is for people to stop moving outside of their area or cluster to only contain the disease within the area,” she said.
The clustering of barangays allows residents to use their food and medicine (FM) pass within their respective clusters as an additional control measure to slow the transmission of the coronavirus.
The city government has identified six clusters: Cluster 1 – Poblacion A and B and Talomo District residents; Cluster 2 – Agdao District; Cluster 3 – Buhangin District; Cluster 4 – Toril District; Cluster 5 – Calinan, Baguio, Marilog, Tugbok and some barangays of Paquibato; and, Cluster 6 – Bunawan, some barangays of Paquibato and the Island Garden City of Samal.
The district clustering, however, drew mixed reactions from the people, particularly those who are forced to go out of their way to shop or buy food at the wet markets.
“If we are to accommodate all your requests, it’s as if we do not have any control measures implemented. So, we ask for your understanding of all the things we need to do. We are not doing this to make fun of the suffering of the people but we are doing this because the number of COVID-19 cases here in Davao City is increasing. We need to protect the thousands from the problem of COVID-19 infection,” she said.
The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) has set up 22 checkpoints in the city, mostly located in critical districts, to ensure that the people are following the guideline set under the enhanced community quarantine.
