DAVAO CITY – This city sees a downward trajectory of the coronavirus disease cases at the start of the month following a surge in the previous months, a local health expert said Thursday.
“If we based it on our epidemic curve, admittedly from February 3, we have seen a downward trend of our cases in Davao City,” said Dr. Ashley Lopez, head of the City Health Office (CHO).
“As of February 8, we have 38 new cases. For February 9, our reported cases were 35. On February 7, we had 22; that means our cases are going down,” Lopez noted.
He said the city’s positivity rate had decreased significantly from 14.7 percent in January to 5.6 percent on February 9.
However, Lopez said the decreasing cases should not be a reason for Dabawenyos to be complacent against the deadly virus.
“We should not be (complacent) because our reliable indicator for this is that it should be two weeks moving average. If we can sustain our numbers or have it lesser, that is the time we could declare that we do not have a surge,” he said.
He said the January figures, which surpassed passed 1,500 active cases, were attributed to the holiday season and the highest cases that the city recorded so far since the pandemic broke out in March last year.
“Despite the continued decrease of active cases recorded every day, it could not be said that the holiday surge is over,” Lopez said even as he reminded Dabawenyos to continue following the existing health protocols.
“Continue observing mitigation measures that the city is implementing like the restrictions, especially our basic health protocols–when going out, wear face mask and face shield, avoid crowded places, social distancing and always bring with you your alcohol,” he said. (PNA)