We were expecting the infection to peter out last week, thus the aborted Modified Community Quarantine that should have taken effect yesterday.
As it is, cases continue to be reported resulting in a lockdown in two barangays, Brgy. 21-C and Brgy. 23-C on April 21, inhabited by a huge population of vulnerable families. The following day, April 22, Leon Garcia in Agdao District and Dalio in Toril District was also subjected to a lockdown. As we know, one case is one too many, and ensuring a strict lockdown would not only prevent the spread in these barangays but in the entire city as well.
Last Sunday afternoon, the Department of Health (DOH)-Davao Center for Health Development again reported four new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases to 108.
A random testing of individuals in these barangays show how the virus has spread. Mayor Sara Duterte, in a radio interview last Saturday said that out of 15 individuals who underwent random testing in Brgy. Leon Garcia, three were found positive of COVID-19. In Isla Verde, Barangay 23, one person was confirmed positive out of the 47 who were tested. What is alarming is that of the four who were confirmed to be positive, one individual was asymptomatic. This means that this person could have been doing his normal activities, and could have infected many more without realizing it.
This actually makes all of us in the city very vulnerable to infection. Staying at home seems to be the only practical solution in stopping the spread of this virus. Those who need to go out of their homes to work in essential industries put their lives at risk every single time. The longer a person is in the workplace or the streets, the more susceptible he is to infection.
It is hard to stay at home for more than a month. The economic and social cost is so high, irreparable even. But this is the only way to prevent the spread because whether we like it or not, COVID-19 is still here.
