Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. (PNA file photo by Che Palicte)
DAVAO CITY –Mayor Sara Duterte has been declared safe from 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and was told to discontinue her voluntary quarantine, an official said Friday.
Dr. Josephine Villafuerte, City Health Office (CHO) chief, said the decision was reached after the staff of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian conducted a "careful review" of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing that the lawmaker and a confirmed Covid-19 patient "were far apart from each other the whole time".
On Thursday, the Presidential Daughter submitted herself for home quarantine and signed up as a Person Under Monitoring (PUM) after attending a lunch meeting with Gatchalian in Manila a day before.
Gatchalian had since announced that he would go into self-quarantine after saying he was in the same room with a person who later tested positive for Covid-19.
Villafuerte said the findings from Gatchalian's office were enough for CHO to conclude that the mayor was safe from the virus.
Meanwhile, Duterte expressed optimism that Dabawenyos will eventually overcome the threat of the disease.
"If we stand together, strong and resilient will be able to overcome this health emergency," she said in an interview on Friday.
She assured that the city government, in coordination with other government agencies and the private sector, is preparing for the possible influx of Covid-19 positive patients.
"We need to ensure that no one gets sick and if we do get patients, we need to be able to respond to them and at the same time, prevent the further spread of the disease," Mayor Duterte added.
Noting the absence of any Covid-19 case in the city, the mayor also advised the public not to panic and to avoid hoarding of goods.
"Hoarding food, toothpaste, tissue papers, and other grocery supplies is not a guarantee that you are protected from the Covid-19," she said. (PNA)
