Davao City will continue to implement street, purok, compound, and house lockdowns during the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) to slow down the spread of COVID-19.
“This is to control the transmission, especially in identified very high-risk and high-risk areas,” Mayor Sara Duterte said in a live interview over the Davao City Disaster Radio on Wednesday.
Duterte also urged employers to be considerate to their workers who might be affected by the lockdowns.
“There will be employees nga dili gyud makasulod not because naa silay sakit but because nasulod sila sa isa ka lockdown. So, maghangyo ta mga offices and establishment employers to take into consideration kaning mga ing-ani nga control measures (There will be employees that cannot report to work not because they are sick but because they were locked down. So, we are appealing to offices and establishment employers to take into consideration these control measures),” she said.
Lockdowns are implemented in an area with an alarming number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
When an area is on lockdown, residents are required to undergo a 14-day home quarantine. Affected residents will be tested on the 14th day again and some of them may be transferred to an isolation facility.
The individuals who are locked down may have been exposed to a positive COVID-19 patient or identified in the contact tracing. The city government provides ration and psychosocial support for residents under lockdown.
As of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the Department of Health’s Davao Center for Health Development reported 31 new cases in the region from the total 401 individuals tested, bringing the total number of cases to 565. Of these new cases, 19 are from Davao City, seven are from Davao del Norte, and five are from Davao de Oro. Eight recoveries from Davao City were also reported.
