DAVAO CITY, Philippines — COVID cases in Davao region has been increasing, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The region logged 375 new cases in the past two weeks, the DOH said in its situation update on Monday.
Healthcare utilization rate was at 31.1 percent for non-intensive care unit beds and 40.4 percent for ICU beds.
Of the 339 patients confined in hospitals for suspected COVID, 26 were either severe or critical.
The DOH-Davao office said five deaths were recorded in the past week.
Dr. Marie Yvette Barez, head of the infectious diseases department at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), urged residents to remain vigilant amid another surge in COVID cases.
“It is always a possibility especially now that there are mass gatherings everywhere. The danger in this is that there will be another COVID surge because the virus mutates fast,” Barez said.
“People are again going on vacation. Sometimes they go home infected with the virus, but undetected because they show no symptoms,” she said.
Barez said there are 154 patients confined at SPMC for COVID.
“We encourage wearing face masks especially in enclosed or crowded areas. As much as possible, we discourage people from going to crowded areas. While it may be unavoidable for people to go to crowded areas because it’s vacation time and people want to enjoy themselves, we are reminding them to always exercise precautions,” she said. – Diana Suelto