An official of the Department of Health (DOH) said the number of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and even areas outside it continues to increase.
In the Jan. 14 Palace briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the peak of the reported cases “is not going to happen soon.”
“Sa atin pong projections na naipakita sa amin kahapon sa IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force] ng ating experts, it’s going to happen towards the end of January or even as late as second week of February,” she said.
“So ito pong mga kaso, patuloy pa rin hong tataas kaya po lahat tayo ay mag-iingat, lahat po tayo ay magpabakuna na kung eligible na para po makatulong tayo na hindi natin maabot iyong mga projections na ipinapakita,” she added.
Earlier, OCTA Research said the daily COVID-19 cases in the NCR might soon peak, noting a decline in the region’s reproduction number from 6.12 on Jan. 3 to 3.77 on Jan. 10.
The group also said the COVID-19 surge is in its early stages in some parts of the country, with a very high average daily attack rate (ADAR) or incidence in Angeles, Baguio, Naga, and Santiago.
The cities of Cebu, Dagupan, Iloilo, Lapu-Lapu, Lucena, Olongapo, and Tacloban recorded high ADAR.
With this, the DOH assured there are enough hospital beds, as well as temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs).
“Nitong January nag-increase tayo ng number of contracted hotels again para sa isolation, at nag-activate na talaga ang LGUs [local government units] ‘yung mga TTMFs to be functional again kasi ang utilization ng TTMFs ay nasa almost 78% na po,” DOH USec. Leopoldo Vega said.
The DOH said a number of patients admitted in Metro Manila hospitals have incidental COVID-19, or those who checked in for other conditions but tested positive for COVID-19 later on.
“During the Delta experience, mas maraming pumupunta sa ospital really because of COVID and pneumonia. Kaya nakikita ho natin iyong less severe manifestations nito pong variant ng Omicron and of course, mataas kasi ang bakunahan,” Vergeire said.
“Nakahanda naman po ang ating mga ospital, both COVID related and incidental COVID are all being managed,” she added.
Meanwhile, following the approval on the shortened isolation and quarantine periods, the DOH assured that those who are through with their quarantines will still undergo assessment before they leave isolation. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG
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