Davao village on hard lockdown as COVID-19 cases surged anew

DAVAO CITY— The local government here has placed under 14-day lockdown beginning Saturday an entire urban village after new cases of COVID-19 surged there again.

In a press statement, the city government said the hard lockdown on Barangay 23-C aims to prevent anyone from either leaving or entering the village where 17 new cases have been recorded in the past six days.

Mayor Sara Duterte advised people “to avoid going to that area for whatever reason, be it for work or not, or going to establishments that are within this area.”

There are now a total of 88 cases in the coastal village of some 18,000 people. Two of them had died. The youngest case was a 25-day-old child, and the oldest, 75 years old.

The city government has categorized Barangay 23-C as “very high risk,” one of the eight villages based on its COVID-19 risk assessment map that came out on June 25.

To ensure strict observance of the quarantine measure, the city government has ordered the deployment of security forces in the area.

City Health Officer Joy Villafurte said the city government, through the social welfare office, will distribute daily food rations to the residents.

Aside from foodstuff, the city government will also provide psychosocial counseling to villagers to help them cope with the situation.

As of July 3, Davao City had 449 cases, 14 of them new. Of these, 378 have recovered while 33 died.

The city is now under modified general community quarantine.