MANILA, Philippines — Davao City has recorded a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the city two weeks after the holiday season.

According to Dr. Ashley Lopez, focal person of Davao City’s COVID-19 Task Force, they have recorded over 100 confirmed COIVD-19 cases daily which is almost double the number of daily cases recorded in the last two weeks of December.

“Since we are experiencing the post-holiday surge, by January 7 we reached 131 cases. Most of the following days from January 7 more than 100 cases are recorded daily,” he said.

Davao City recorded 1,144 new cases in the last 14 days according to the January 13 bulletin of the Department of Health (DOH).

Lopez also said the New Year surge would be expected by the third week of January.

He also called on Dabawenyos to be responsible and do their part  in preventing the further spread of the virus by strictly following the minimum health safety protocols. AAC

MANILA, Philippines — The city government of Davao is set to submit specimens of patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Metro Manila to check for the possible presence of new coronavirus variant amid the spike of new cases in the city.

Dr. Ashley Lopez, the city’s COVID-19 focal person, said vaccine czar and National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez issued the directive on Wednesday after seeing a worrisome uptick in new infections in the city.

Lopez said the specimens of COVID-19 patients recorded this month will be sent to the RITM for a genomic analysis.

While the increase in COVID-19 cases in the city could have been due to a post-holiday surge, he said authorities cannot discount the possibility that a new variant may have entered its borders through the porous backdoor channels in some areas in Mindanao, including Cotabato City, Zamboanga City, Sarangani Province and General Santos City.

Malaysia, the country’s closest neighbor, has already confirmed a case of the new variant.

Lopez said the Task Force Davao and the city’s Public Safety and Security Command Center have implemented stricter restrictions at the borders to regulate the entry of people.

Data from the Department of Health-Davao Region showed that from January 1 to 23, 2021 alone, Davao City recorded 1,222 new infections, which is 33% higher than the number reported from December 19 to 31, 2020. – RRD (with details from Correspondent Lucille Lloren)

MANILA, Philippines – Fourteen employees of the Davao City hall were apprehended after they were caught drinking alcoholic beverages on Tuesday despite an existing liquor ban.

The city government said the employees of the Davao City Engineering’s Office were caught inside the motor pool compound in Barangay Maa at 3:45 p.m.

Mayor Sara Duterte has issued a stern warning against government workers who disobey the liquor ban in the city, as well as the prohibition on the conduct of holiday parties amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

 “Heads of offices should remind their personnel every day to give honor (by following protocols) to their fellow employees who are hard at work on the Covid-19 frontlines,” Duterte said.

The ban on drinking and selling of liquor and other alcoholic beverages was reimposed in the city on November 2 until December 31 as part of local government’s efforts to control the COVID-19 cases.

Duterte also ordered the city’s human resource management office to “check other penalties aside from liquor ban cases.”