Fallout from Davao derby still haunts Mindanao

MALAYBALAY CITY –– More than 3,300 residents of hinterland Barangay Lumbayao in Valencia City are locked down in their homes.

All establishments in the village were closed, and public transportation suspended, making many residents dependent on food packs provided by the city government.

Valencia City Mayor Azucena Huervas imposed the heightened quarantine measures after Lumbayao village chief Nelson Cabaluna tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on April 9.

Located 24 kilometers from the city center or Poblacion, Lumbayao is the most recent locality in Mindanao to feel the fallout of last month’s six-cock derby in Davao City’s posh New Matina Gallera.

Cabaluna, 50, went to the derby’s elimination rounds on March 12. Vice Mayor Policarpo Murillo said Cabaluna was one of four derby-goers from the city who were monitored by health workers since March 22.

On March 25, Cabaluna had a mild cough and fever. A swab sample was taken from him on April 2, 21 days after his derby attendance. The test result from the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City came out a week later.

As he no longer showed symptoms of the disease, Cabaluna is on home quarantine. But before receiving the test result, the village chief reportedly went to a bank and a hospital, attended barangay sessions, and hosted a party.

Dr. Adriano Suba-an, northern Mindanao regional health director, said 69 persons, who may have come in contact with Cabaluna, had been traced and advised to go on isolation while being observed for possible infection.

Bukidnon lockdown

After the report of Cabaluna’s contracting COVID-19, Bukidnon Governor Jose Maria Zubiri imposed stricter quarantine measures across the province.

For two weeks starting April 13, nonresidents were not allowed entry, and non-essential businesses were ordered to temporarily close, including agribusiness firms that produce food for the domestic and export markets.

Zubiri explained that the stricter measures aimed to prevent more infected persons from entering the province.

The Matina Gallera has emerged as ground zero for the local transmission of the virus. As of April 11, the Department of Health ((DOH) counted 25 COVID-19 patients in the Davao region as persons who were exposed to the derby.

Some infected derby-goers infected four more persons. The DOH has tracked, so far, more than 700 people who are likely exposed to the derby, which was aborted on March 12.

Seven derby-goers from outside the Davao region brought the virus to their hometowns, creating a stir in their communities. Apart from Valencia City, these are Tubod, Lanao del Norte; Midsayap, and Kidapawan City in Cotabato; Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao; Banga, South Cotabato; and General Santos City.

Like Lumbayao, Malingao village in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, where one COVID-19-infected derby-goer is a resident, is still on lockdown.

No longer a threat

As more derby-goers were reported to have been infected, residents in other Mindanao localities continue buzzing on social media, urging those who went to the event to report to health authorities.

In Cagayan de Oro, local epidemiologist Dr. Joselito Retuya allayed concerns the derby-goers, who came from the city, pose a danger to the health of other people.

Local authorities have traced 20 derby-goers from the city.

Retuya said none of them showed symptoms of the disease, and given the lapse of time, the virus, if ever they carried it, may have died already.

“As cited by the WHO (World Health Organization), there are no cases of asymptomatic persons infecting other persons; … only symptomatic cases or those showing moderate to severe symptoms,” Retuya explained.

“The virus can only stay in the carrier for two weeks or 14 days and if it doesn’t find another host, it will die out,” he added.

Retuya disclosed that local health workers have contacted the derby-goers discreetly, and those they have come in contact with, following up on their condition.

“They have not reported any symptoms associated with COVID-19,” Retuya said. (With reports from Ryan Rosauro)

LZB