Mindanao’s COVID-19 cases have more than doubled in three weeks, from 1,320 on July 1 to 2,815 on July 21 or 53.1% increase, mostly due to the arrival of residents from overseas or from where they were stranded – in Manila or Cebu and elsewhere in the country –- during the lockdowns since mid-March.
The Mindanao statistics from the reports of five regional offices of the Department of Health in the country’s second largest island grouping and the Ministry of Health in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Out of 2,815 cases in Mindanao as of July 21, a total of 1,274 have recovered (45.2%) while 85 died (3%). The resumption of travel by air, land and sea due to the imposition of less restrictive quarantine measures and the implementation of a series of programs — Balik Probinsya, Hatid Probinsya and the more recent Hatid Tulong Program – to bring home locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFS) with no strict health protocols implemented at the point of origin, triggered the surge in the number of cases.
On May 31, Mindanao’s total number of cases was only 597 with Davao region posting the highest at 348 followed by Zamboanga Peninsula with 160, Northern Mindanao with 30, BARMM with 27, Region 12 (Soccksargen) with 10 and Caraga eight.
By June 1, out of 27 provinces and 33 cities in Mindanao, only the cities of Davao and Zamboanga were under General Community Quarantine (GCQ). The rest were under the less restrictive Modified GCQ (MGCQ) which paved the way for opening of land borders, airports and seaports.
Source: Carolyn O. Arguillas (Mindanews)