By Alec Go
The Philippines’ COVID-19 active cases may decline to 22,000 by mid-November if the current mobility is maintained along with health protocols observance, and if the isolation to detection period is at five days or shorter.
This was reported by the Department of Health (DOH) USec. Maria Rosario Vergeire in the Laging Handa briefing on Saturday (Nov. 6), based on case projections of FASSSTER projections.
“Kapag na-maintain natin ang current mobility sa ngayon which is about 82%, na-maintain ang compliance to minimum public health standards, at ang detection to isolation natin ay nasa limang araw or less, tayo ay magkakaroon ng active cases na 22,000 by Nov. 15,” Vergeire said.
“Kapag nawala o tumaas ang mobility natin, ang ating active cases sa buong Pilipinas may reach up tp 52,393,” she added.
The Philippines has 53,642 active cases as of Saturday noon.
The National Capital Region (NCR) shifted to a more relaxed Alert Level 2 from Alert Level 3 on Nov. 5, after the current case metrics showed improvements in the COVID-19 situation.
The official said the downgrade was not sudden as the region’s healthcare utilization went down to less than 50%, with its cases having a negative two-week growth rate (2WGR) and an average daily attack rate of around 5.
“This is less than seven, that’s why they had been classified as low risk already, and they had been deescalated to Alert Level 2,” she said.
In terms of hospital admissions, she said there has been a decline for COVID-19 cases, while the occupancy for non-COVID beds is “stable.”
The DOH appealed to the public to remain compliant with health protocols amid the easing of restrictions to sustain the downward trend of cases in the country.
As of Nov. 5, the country has 2,797,986 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 2,716,524 recoveries, and 44,085 fatalities. – bny
