Davao City has now overtaken Quezon City to become the city with the highest number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said on Tuesday, June 8.

"Today , nalagpasan na ng Davao City yung Quezon City. Sa seven-day average, yung average ng Davao City 213 cases per day, sa Quezon City 207. So yung Davao na ang may pinakamaraming average number of cases per day (Davao City has overtaken Quezon City. On the seven-day average, Davao City averaged 213 cases per day, while Quezon City averaged 207. So Davao City now has the highest average number of cases per day)," David said in an interview with GMA on Tuesday.

In its monitoring report on Monday, June 7, the OCTA Research Group said that Davao City will likely surpass Quezon City with the highest number of new COVID-19 cases "before next week."

David cannot say exactly the reason for Davao City's surge in cases.

"Pero alam natin na nagkakaroon ng pagtaas sa Mindanao most likely dahil yung mga border controls natin minsan may nakakalusot na travelers, or mga ROF na may dalang mga virus (But we know that there is an increase in cases in Mindanao maybe because some travelers or returning overseas Filipinos who have the virus were able to enter the border)," he explained.

Aside from Davao City, David said that General Santos City, Koronadal City, and Cotabato City are also "areas of concern" due to high number of new COVID-19 cases, as well as high rates of hospital and ICU or intensive care unit utilization.

He has also flagged other areas of concern in Western Visayas, particularly Bacolod City, Iloilo City, and Dumaguete City.

David reiterated OCTA's proposal for vaccination prioritization that will include "high-risk areas" aside from Metro Manila.

"Hindi naman nakalimutan yung ibang high-risk areas at mga hotspot na nag-eemerge kasi kailangan naman talaga mabakunahan natin yung mga priority groups dun yung mga health care workers, seniors, maybe even mga A3. So talagang kasama din sa prioritization itong mga emerging high-risk areas na ito. (We haven't forgotten the other high-risk areas and hotspots that are emerging because we really need to vaccinate the priority groups, the health care workers, seniors, maybe even the A3s. So these emerging high-risk areas are really included in the prioritization)," he said.

David noted that a realistic goal for the country is to achieve "population protection" or COVID-19 containment by the end of the year.

"We’re targeting 40-50 percent of the population in high-risk areas. In NCR (National Capital Region), this is still a moderate high-risk area which means there’s always the threat of a surge na mangyari dito sa NCR kaya hindi pa rin naman natin kinakalimutan yung NCR (that can happen here in NCR so we still don’t forget the NCR)," he said.

"Because these are epicenters ibig sabihin kapag nagkaroon ng surge sa NCR usually nagkakaroon ng ripple effect, nagkakaroon din ng surge sa other regions. Cebu City and Davao City these are metropolitan areas na talagang centers of the pandemic kaya priority pa rin sila (When there is a surge in NCR usually there is a ripple effect, there is also a surge in other regions. Cebu City and Davao City these are metropolitan areas that are really centers of the pandemic so they are still a priority)," he added.

In achieving population protection, David reiterated the need to allocate 30-40 million doses of vaccines before the end of the year.

"Once we contain virus in the NCR and other COVID-19 epicenters, such as Davao City, Calabarzon, and Central Visayas then there will also be no secondary outbreaks in other regions," he said.