The OCTA Research Group has warned of the possible increase of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) in the coming weeks.
Professor Ranjit Rye of the group explained that the spike may be “inevitable” due to the increased mobility and number of social gatherings due to the holiday season over the last two months.
“Hindi automatic na may surge. ‘Yung surge pwede natin ma-reverse ‘yan by simply doing our shares (A surge is not automatic. It can be reversed by simply doing our shares),” Rye stated.
“There is a great possibility that the new strain is here so that’s why we have to be more careful. We have to be more compliant. We have to be less complacent,” he advised.
The reproduction number of COVID-19 in the NCR is now at 1.17 which is an indication that the virus transmission is becoming faster.
However, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that the current spike in COVID-19 cases in the NCR has slightly stabilized, saying that it previously had “positive growth”.
“Nakita natin ngayon dito sa mga bagong itinatalang kaso, ang NCR ay medyo hindi sila nagbibigay ng pagtaas ng mga kaso, nasa ibang regions natin nakikita sa ngayon (We’ve seen in the newly reported cases that NCR is not showing an increase, rather, the increase is seen in other regions),” DOH USec. Maria Rosario Vergeire elucidated.
The DOH nonetheless said it is expecting a rise in cases, especially with the resumption of operations of laboratories. Many laboratories have started submitting testing data after the holidays.
The impact of the holiday season on the trend of cases has yet to be seen next week, while the effect of the Traslacion will take 14 more days to show.
Experts are now urging local government units (LGUs) to conduct monitoring, contact tracing, and testing on the attendees of the Traslacion in Quiapo, Manila. – Report from Mark Fetalco
