DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 01 November) — A total of 223 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases were reported late Saturday night out of 1,712 persons tested, the highest single-day increase since the outbreak in the region began in mid-March, the Department of Health (DOH)-Davao Region said.
This brought the total cases in the region to 5,474 with 1,369 active, 3,910 recoveries, and 195 deaths.
Of this total, the DOH-Davao reported that 3,751 were reported in Davao City (170 new cases), 297 in Davao de Oro (one new), 581 in Davao del Norte (13 new), 398 in Davao del Sur (28 new), 102 in Davao Occidental (four new), and 345 in Davao Oriental (seven new).
As of October 31, the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the main referral hospital for COVID-19 cases, said 27 out of 30 intensive care unit beds and 256 out of 290 COVID-18 ward beds have been occupied.
Mayor Sara Duterte reimposed the 24/7 ban on alcoholic beverages effective 5 a.m. of November 2 until December 31, to prevent exposure of more individuals to the highly infectious disease by “reason of their unbridled drinking sessions.”
The curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. was reimposed starting October 15 to control the movement of the people while the local government is set to impose a mandatory safe Davao QR Code starting November 7 to hasten contact tracing and enforce prohibition on non-essential movement of the people amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)