MANILA, Philippines — The Davao city health office (CHO) is on alert amid an increase in COVID cases.
Dr. Marjorie Culas, CHO officer-in-charge, said there are 234 active cases in the city, many of them asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.
Culas said the increase in cases was due to mandatory reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing being conducted at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
She said the increase in cases was expected because many residents no longer wear face masks.
Culas said the CHO is ready to provide additional facilities to the SPMC if needed.
The Department of Health (DOH) had earlier reported an increase in COVID cases in Davao region.
The DOH regional office said healthcare utilization rate was at 31.1 percent for non-intensive care unit beds and 40.4 percent for ICU beds.