Davao City's new COVID-19 cases overtake Quezon City's count — OCTA
MANILA, Philippines — Davao City has overtaken Quezon City on the number of new COVID-19 infections it has reported in the last week, OCTA Research said Tuesday.
The independent panel of experts in its June 8 report said Davao City saw a 44% increase in cases on the first week of June. That would translate to 213 new cases from the 147 in the previous week.
Its daily attack rate, or the number of new cases per 100,000 population, is now at 11.71.
Experts on Monday flagged nine cities outside Metro Manila as "areas of concern" which included Davao City.
The capital of Davao Region is under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine until June 20, as it deals with a surge in cases that has overwhelmed the Southern Philippines Medical Center and its quarantine facilities.
Quezon City, in contrast, had a -27% growth rate, or 207 additional infections in the last seven days, from the 283 the week before that. Its daily attack rate was also at 6.56.
Sought for comment, Malacañang said comparing the two cities' COVID-19 picture would not be fair.
"QC was put under Enhanced Community Quarantine and MEQC for no less than two months," said spokesperson Harry Roque in Filipino during a regular briefing. "Meanwhile, Davao was under GCQ for a long period of time."
Davao City is the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte. He has returned there from time to time amid the pandemic, where officials often had to fly there too for their weekly meetings.
Roque suggested that one factor behind the situation in there is that SPMC caters to COVID-19 patients even from its neighboring areas in the southern part of Mindanao.
"Let's just say we can't compare apples to apples because the situation is different in Davao," he added.
Metro Manila has since been downgraded to GCQ along with Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan, where several restrictions have been eased.
Health authorities have said that they continue to see a decline in cases in the said bubble, but noted that infections are on the rise in Visayas and Mindanao.
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