The Department of Health Davao Center for Health Development (DOH DCHD) and the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) have discussed the possibility of easing the current Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the City of Davao.
The Chief Training Officer for SPMC Dr. Maria Elinore Concha discussed that it is important for the medical health facilities ang local government of Davao City to be able to abide by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) prerequisite standards for the easing of community quarantine measures.
“Ang number one po na parang consideration in terms of lifting quarantines, lockdowns is really to ensure that disease transmission is under control (The number one consideration for lifting quarantines, lockdowns is really to ensure that disease transmission is under control),”Dr. Concha said.
The case doubling time or the number of days it takes for new positive cases to double in number in a particular area is one of the considerations that should be closely monitored by local health authorities. The lower the case doubling time means that the spread of the disease is not under control since it takes only a few days for new recorded cases to double in number.
Based upon the given data from last May 4, 2020, Davao City has had a recorded case doubling time of 28 days as based upon the number of days where there were zero (0) recorded cases in the city. The given case doubling time is therefore well above the required parameters by the WHO for the easing of community quarantine protocols in areas that have been hit by breakouts of COVID-19.
Another important consideration prior to the lowering of the ECQ in the city is the ability of existing health systems to detect, test, isolate, and treat every case and trace every contact in the event of any COVID-19 outbreaks.
“We are really on heightened surveillance, we do contact tracing … and for us naman po, dito sa hospital (SPMC) – we try to help. Then hopefully po, but wala pa this week, we will be able to procure faster PCR tests (…for us here at the hospital (SPMC) – we try to help. Then hopefully, but not this week, we will be able to procure faster PCR tests),” Dr. Concha said.
Apart from the said prerequisite considerations to be taken by each local governing body prior to easing community quarantine protocols, the WHO also recommends bolstering aspects of local medical infrastructure and community support to minimize the risk of having additional waves of infections.
Each locality that is set on implementing an easing of quarantine measures should have the capacity to minimize hot spot areas for the virus while also maintaining preventive measures in public areas. In the case of travel, local facilities and infrastructure should be able to readily manage the importing of new cases from different areas.
And most important of all is the effective education and full support of communities with regards to the new standards to be set in place in easing public health safety measures for community quarantine and for the eventual integration of populations to the ‘New Normal’. (PIA XI/KPC)
