December 14, 2020
by Marriane Solante
For the past couple of months now, Davao City has landed in the Top 5 regions with the highest COVID cases. On the 19th day of October 2020, it is Davao Region’s first time to be on one of the top lists of regions with the highest cases. Here is the list of the Top 5 regions on October 5 – 19 2020 with their corresponding number of cases:
- NCR – 555
- Region IVA – 463
- Region III – 173
- Region VI – 187
- Region XI – 97
November 17, 18 and 23, 2020 were the dates that Davao City had a no show on the Top 5 according to the latest report of the Department of Health.
On November 17, 2020,Cavite was on the top with 88 cases, Quezon(52), Rizal (46), Baguio City and Manila had 44. The next day, Cavite topped the list once more with 81 new cases, next was Laguna(74), Batangas(71), Quezon City (69), and Rizal with (67). On November 23, 2020, Cavite was on top once more with 154 cases, Rizal(114), Quezon City(99), Bulacan(76), and Laguna(67).
Last December 7, 2020, Davao City tops the list of areas with the most number of COVID-19 cases making it the only city with three-digit numbers. Davao City has 187 cases followed by Rizal with 96 cases, Pampanga(80), Quezon City(69) and City of Pasig(59). A few days later, on the 16th day of December, Davao City tops the list again with 126 cases, Quezon City comes next with 66 cases, Rizal(64), Bulacan(56), and City of Manila (38). Davao topped the list once more on 28th of December 2020 with 60 cases, followed by Quezon City with 46 cases, Benguet(61), Laguna(39) and Rizal(37).
Davao del Norte also entered the top 5 last 09 December 2020 with 64 cases. Batangas came first in the list with 71 cases, next was Quezon City(70), Davao del Norte(64), Benguet(59), and Quezon(57). Meanwhile, Davao City was absent from the list on this day.
Health executives think that the reason why the cases are getting higher in Davao City is because of people going out of the house even when it is not important. DOH-Davao Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit head Cleo Fe Tabada said that people who fail to comply with the health protocols increase the transmission of the virus. Cardiologist Dr. Bernard Chiew, chair of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) national committee on external affairs said that a lockdown would be helpful for the medical community as the healthcare system is overwhelmed with the alarming increase of COVID-19 patients. As per protocol, everyone should stay at home and only go out for work and necessities, wear masks and face shields, always practice washing of hands and physical distancing to reduce the risk of infection and to lower the cases.