Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte. (PNA file photo)
DAVAO CITY -- Mayor Sara Z. Duterte has denied the claim of National Task Force on Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) chief implementer Sec. Carlito Galvez that numerous patients found to be positive for Covid-19 in this city have undergone home quarantine.
Galvez claimed during Thursday's meeting with local and regional officials here that he wanted to end the practice of placing Covid-19 patients under home quarantine because it contributes to the rise in community transmission cases.
Mayor Sara suggested that Galvez was misinformed, pointing out that the home quarantine of Covid-19 infected patients has never been a local government policy, even at the onset of the pandemic.
“We all know that we do not have that policy here in Davao City,” Duterte said on Friday during a radio interview.
During the meeting, Duterte said she did not correct Galvez's erroneous statement as she expected the Department of Health in Region 11 (DOH-11 to clarify the matter.
“I remained mum about it because I am expecting DOH to correct the narrative. I may not have spoken because I expected DOH to say something, but they never did,” she pointed out.
Galvez said that the patient care centers in this city are only around 27 percent occupied, which he took to mean that the rest are home-quarantined.
“If we have home quarantine, community transmission follows, and if there is community transmission, it would be difficult for us to stop Covid,” Galvez said.
Duterte reiterated that it has always been the local government's policy to admit even asymptomatic patients to the city's Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMF). (PNA)
