The city government is currently completing a stricter guideline under the extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which will last until April 26.
Mayor Sara Duterte bared on Wednesday that they plan on imposing even more stringent security and safety measures after noting some lapses in the implementation of the ECQ.
“We are still discussing this with the city director of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) on how to tighten the ECQ, especially that we still see a large number (of people) going outside and roaming around (the city).
The guideline will essentially be the same, except for some additional inputs.
“If there will be additional (guidelines), we will release it within the next two days so that it will be implemented by Saturday or Monday,” she said.
Duterte was previously irked by the number of private vehicles she saw on the roads despite the ECQ. This prompted the mayor to announce that COVID-19 patients who are found to have violated the ECQ should not expect financial assistance from the city.
The implementation of the ECQ will be extended for one more week until April 26.
“[T]hat is one incubation period plus half incubation period. So our ECQ is one and a half incubation period,” she said.
She said that there is a need to extend the enhanced community quarantine in Davao City and the entire Davao region based on the discussion and presentation of the Department of Health (DOH) during the meeting with the Davao Region COVID-19 Task Force.
“[B]ased on the numbers presented by the doctors, the picture of the entire Davao region, they saw that there is a need to extend (ECQ) for us to lower (number of cases),” mayor Duterte said.
She also noted that there is a fluctuation on the number of positive cases in the region but this might be due to some changes in the classification of the DOH in identifying the possible suspects for COVID-19.
“If you have a respiratory problem, you are automatically considered as a suspect and that is also the reason why there is an increase in the admission (of patients) in the hospital,” Duterte said.
Duterte also said that it was agreed among the governors of Davao region that the extension of the ECQ implementation “will be the same” across local government units. The mayor also added that entry to the region will still not be allowed given the extension of the ECQ.
“The doctor said not to allow entry via land, sea, and air here in Davao Region,” she said.
The mayor said that those individuals residing in Davao region who are currently stranded in various places outside of the region will still be provided with assistance by their local government units.
