The Department of Health (DOH) clarified Wednesday that Davao City is not the new “epicenter” of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH discourages the use of “epicenter” to describe a COVID-19 surge in an area.
“Epicenter, in relation to epidemics, are interpreted by some to refer to an area as the source of the infection. It is also meant to connote the area as a hotspot for the infection,” she told reporters.
“These areas are not the origin of the COVID-19 virus. Moreover, using the term ‘epicenter’ detracts from other surrounding areas which may be equally or more affected by COVID-19,” she added. “Considering this, no, Davao City is not an epicenter.”
Davao City has overtaken Quezon City as the area in the country with the highest average of new COVID-19 cases for the first week of June.
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Davao City not PH’s new COVID-19 ‘epicenter’ – DOH
According to the report released by the OCTA Research Group, the city has an average of 213 new cases compared to 207 in Quezon City, which always tops the list.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said it is not fair to compare Davao to Quezon City because the situation of the 2 cities is different. He said many go to Davao City for checkups.
“Hindi rin po maaalis iyong katotohanan na dahil ang Southern Philippine Medical Center caters to everyone in Southern Philippines, iyong mga datos ng mga COVID-19 cases include cases from the neighboring areas,” said Roque.
Areas in the province that have experienced high numbers today will also be remembered as loose community quarantine status areas.
So for ABS-CBN Data Analytics head Edson Guido, it only means one thing.
“Nakikita natin talagang nagkakaroon ng shift sa epicenter. On a micro-level naman, talagang hindi pwedeng maging kampante whether GCQ or MGCQ kasi ang bilis mangyari ng surge and it can happen anytime at once na magsimula ‘yan, sobrang bilis,” said Guido.
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