AS THE 37th Kadayawan sa Davao Festival celebration heats up, the City COVID-19 Task Force reiterated its reminder for Davaoeños to take their two-dose vaccination series and booster shots following the six deaths logged from Aug. 7 to 13, and the 14% positivity rate on Wednesday, August 17.
Dr. Michelle Schlosser, the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson, said people would have every reason to go around with a lot of fun and entertaining Kadayawan activities happening in the city.
Three of the six deaths were partially unvaccinated, while one completed the two-dose series but did not receive any booster jab. Most of the recent COVID-19 casualties were senior citizens, while one is from the 10 to 19 age group and another belongs to the 20 to 29 population group.
She said although the anti-COVID-19 vaccine does not guarantee that a person does not contract the disease, it promises protection from the severe or critical type of COVID-19 that may result in death.
“Pero unta dili kalimtan sa mga tao ang pagproteksyon dili lang sa ilang sarili but sa ilang loved ones and sa entire community. Pack one, pack all man gud ta. We are living in a community where we affect each other. Kung dili magpabakuna ang uban, dako’g possibility nga makatakod sila and then unfortunate kaayo kung matakdan nila wala pu’y bakuna, dakong tsansa nga ikamatay nila ang COVID-19. Mao na atong dili gusto (But people should not forget to protect, not only themselves but their loved ones and the entire community. We are a pack one, pack all. We are living in a community where we affect each other. If others do not get vaccinated, there is a great possibility that they will be infected. Then it would be very unfortunate if they infect an unvaccinated who will be at high-risk of dying from COVID-19. That’s what we don’t want),” she said during a program in the Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on Aug. 17.
According to her, fully vaccinated individuals or those who have received booster shots only become mild or asymptomatic cases when they get infected.
The city health official said that since social distancing has been lifted, only the mandatory face mask wearing and frequent handwashing have remained as minimum public health standards (MPHS) in the city.
And yet, the task force has observed that many people still take the wearing of face masks for granted, saying that others only wear masks when there is police personnel around.
Underscoring the 9.4 average daily positivity rate from August 7 to 14, Schlosser said the public should be even more vigilant in celebrating the Kadayawan more responsibly.
“Naa’y events in enclosed areas, so ang mga social distancing dili gyud nato ma mind. Naa’y uban mu-mask lang kung naay magtan-aw o magbantay. Ang uban dira dili kabalo mag hand hygiene. There will always be a high risk for transmission because of the events, sa mga gatherings, we’re looking forward because of the Kadayawan. To avoid this, magpabilin tang magbinantayon, magpabilin tang maayo atong desisyon in doing our activities and fun. Kita mismo kabalo ta unsa ang high-risk, unsa ang mga activities, actions nga ma avoid nato ang risk of transmission. Emphasis pud nato for people to avail of the vaccines, not only the primary dose series but also boosters (There are events in enclosed areas so we fail to really mind social distancing. Others only wear a mask when someone is watching. Some of them don’t know how to do hand hygiene. There will always be a high risk of transmission because of the events, in the gatherings, we’re looking forward because of the Kadayawan, to avoid this let’s stay vigilant, and let’s stay wise in our decision in doing our activities and fun. We ourselves know what is a high risk, and what activities, actions we can prevent the risk of transmission. We also emphasize for people to avail of the vaccines, not only the primary dose series but also boosters),” she added.
The People’s Park vaccination site will open on Saturday, Aug. 20, to cater to Dabawenyos and festival revelers from nearby cities and provinces and domestic and foreign tourists.
