Galvez apologizes to Sara Duterte for blaming home quarantine for rise of COVID-19 cases in Davao City

National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief Carlito Galvez Jr. has apologized to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for pinpointing the policy of home quarantine for COVID-19 patients as the reason for the increase of COVID-19 cases in the city, clarifying that the local chief executive has long banned such approach.

“Hearing Mayor Duterte-Carpio categorically declare that home quarantine is not only discouraged but prohibited in Davao City is a  concrete indication of the local government’s desire to effectively contain the spread of the disease and bring down the number of cases. The mayor’s statement serves to correct our earlier understanding that home quarantine could be one of the major reasons for the significant rise in coronavirus cases in the city over the past several weeks,” Galvez said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to Mayor Duterte-Carpio for whatever adverse impact our analysis of the COVID-19 situation may have inadvertently caused on the people of Davao City,” he added.

Galvez then assured the Davao City government that it stands ready to assist the local government in Davao “in all ways possible in order to help strengthen the city's testing, contact tracing, treatment, isolation/recovery capacity” in addressing the surge of COVID-19 cases in the city.

“The NTF would therefore like to laud the Mayor for the aggressive efforts being carried out by the city government to scale up the area's health care system in partnership with the national government, local medical community and the private sector,” he said.

“Together, we shall heal and recover as one,” he added.

The Inter-Agency Task Force—the policy body on the government’s COVID-19 response—earlier placed Davao City under stricter General Community Quarantine (GCQ) protocol last November 20 due to rising COVID-19 cases there.

The GCQ protocol only allows 50% to 70% of public transport and same percentage of workforce physically reporting to their respective offices.

Also on Monday, Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire also said that the Health Department already deployed resources in Davao City ahead of it being placed under GCQ protocol and before the city’s critical care utilization rate reaches the critical zone of 85 to 100%.

Based on DOH data, Davao City’s critical care utilization rate is at 78.5% with only 97 COVID-19 beds left available as of November 21. — RSJ, GMA News