By Warren Elijah Valdez
DAVAO CITY - The Department of Health (DOH)-Davao has recorded 13 new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Davao City, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 235.
Davao City now has a total of 213 confirmed positives with 103 recoveries and 22 fatalities.
As of 5 p.m. of May 21, Thursday, the DOH-Davao Center for Health Development (DCHD) also recorded two more recoveries from the city, which brings the region’s total number of COVID-19 patients who have recovered to 119.
The total number of deaths due to the disease in the region remains at 25.
DOH-Davao, however, has yet to release the individual breakdown of the 13 new COVID-19 patients indicating their age, gender, residence, and their history of exposure.
Davao City, which currently has the highest number of COVID-19 positives in the region, also holds the most number of fatalities from the disease with 22 recorded deaths.
Mayor Sara Duterte, who also chairs the Regional Task Force on COVID-19, has urged the public to avoid going to the malls except for essential movement purposes only.
“We only have one day left before the weekend. Let us avoid going to the malls this weekend just to roam around. I would just like to remind everybody that the more you go to (overcrowded) areas , the more of a risk that you will be infected by the COVID-19,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a statement, DOH-Davao Regional Director Dr. Annabelle Yumang has also reminded the public to continue observing the health protocols being implemented even with the transition to the “new normal” state.
“Kami magpadayon og magpahinumdum nga uban niining new normal mao ang atoang ‘new behavior’(We continue to remind (the public) that this is our new behavior that comes with the new normal)” Dr. Yumang said in vernacular.
She also pointed out that individuals aged from 21 to 59 years old who need to go out of their residences must always wear their personal protective gears such as face mask, and observe one-meter distancing from other people.
“Protect yourself and other people,” Yumang added, noting that the virus could always be transmitted by an infected person to another through a simple face-to-face conversation, coughing, and sneezing.
“The droplets or the saliva from coughing, talking, or sneezing can reach up to three feet or in a one-meter distance from the person who is infected,” she said.