Mayor Sara Duterte, during her live program over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Monday, said that further easing the quarantine protocols such as removing the ban on alcoholic beverages and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew would encourage social gathering where the highly contagious disease could spread.
“We will not [lift] liquor ban and curfew because based on our experience before when we removed that during MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine), it encouraged people to gather,” she said.
Duterte added the cases are expected to surge when people move around without strictly observing the minimum health protocols.
The curfew and liquor ban, reimplemented to “prevent the exposure of individuals to the COVID-19 virus by reason of their unbridled drinking sessions,” are in effect until March 31.
The city was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from April 4 to May 15, general community quarantine (GCQ) from May 16 until June 30, and modified GCQ from July 1 to November 19.
It reverted to GCQ on November 20, 2020, after the city saw an alarming increase in new cases.
Based on Executive Order 12 issued on Monday, the City Government of Davao temporarily suspended the implementation of food and medicine (FM) passes effective Monday or four months after the local government ordered its reimposition amid (COVID-19).
Duterte said the public only need their Safe Davao QR (DQR) codes upon entry to business establishments to access essential goods and services
It also permits public markets to operate daily from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The order also requires random testing of land, sea, and air travelers, aside from requiring them to pass the symptom screening test upon arrival and to have their DQR codes scanned.
It added that travelers exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 shall be held for testing in the facility operated by the City Government, it added.
It said the conduct of random testing will be handled by the Health group of the Response Cluster of the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force.
As of March 15, the Department of Health (DOH)-Davao Region reported 21 new cases, bringing the total cases to 20,666, with 877 active, 18,906 recoveries, and 883 deaths in the region.
Out of the total, Davao City, which reported the highest COVID-19 cases in Mindanao, tallied 13,395 cases, with 412 active, 12,331 recoveries, and 652 deaths. Davao de Oro reported 1,229 cases, Davao del Norte with 3,156, Davao del Sur with 1,387, Davao Occidental with 220, and Davao Oriental with 1,279. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
