DOH: Davao City not the new COVID-19 ‘epicenter’

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday rejected the use of the term “epicenter” to describe Davao City amid a spike in its COVID-19 cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH discourages the use of “epicenter” to describe a rise in infections in a certain 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.”

A fellow from the OCTA Research group earlier said Davao City had surpassed Quezon City in having the highest average number of daily new COVID-19 cases. 

Davao City logged a 54% increase in cases over the past week, going from 134 infections to 206 during the period of May 31 to June 6. 

Over 400 employees of a business process outsourcing firm in Davao City also tested positive for COVID-19. 

“We continue to closely monitor the situation in Davao City due to increasing cases,” Vergeire said.

The government has tightened quarantine restrictions in Davao City due to its COVID-19 case spike. 

Malacañang also said it was wrong to compare Davao City and Quezon City as the two areas are under different lockdown classifications. 

Quezon City is under general community quarantine while Davao City is under the more stringent modified enhanced community quarantine.

Davao City has over 1,700 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday afternoon, according to data from the DOH.

The Philippines has 1,280,773 COVID-19 infections with 1,202,257 recoveries and 22,064 deaths as of Tuesday. — RSJ, GMA News