DOH Sees Increase in COVID Cases After Christmas

Manila, Philippines – Health officials warned Thursday of an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country following Christmas family gatherings and celebrations, but said this could still be tempered with strict adherence to health measures.

“It is no longer a question of whether there will be a surge, but when and how much. We have the power to influence how big or small the wave can be, ”said the Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire.

Vergeire cited the rise in the number of infections in Canada and the United States after the Thanksgiving celebration in November, when people traveled to vacation with loved ones.

As a result, he said, Canada’s seven-day average of new infections is now growing to around 5,000 new cases per day and the United States average is 200,000.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said hospitals, especially those that are privately run, should prepare for a possible post-holiday spike in the number of cases and dedicate more beds and mechanical ventilators for patients with the respiratory disease. serious.

Speaking at a meeting of cabinet officials Wednesday night, Duque called on local government officials to ensure that isolation beds at treatment and monitoring centers are sufficient.

The Department of Health (DOH) is also ensuring that labs continue to process coronavirus tests over the holidays, he said.

Duque said the public must continue to observe basic health measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

In addition to wearing masks and face shields, observing physical distancing, washing hands frequently, and avoiding crowded and closed areas, people should avoid activities that cause them to expel respiratory droplets into the air, he said. These include singing and eating directly in front of others, Duque said.

He said that using trumpets to make noise “would be similar to blowing the COVID-19 virus in the air.”

‘Weakest’ health system

Vergeire called on the public to follow the government’s advice to observe health measures, especially as the health system would be “weaker” in January after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

He explained that many training hospitals “are in the transition phase where older residents are replaced by newer ones” at the beginning of the year.

“We also need to keep in mind that staff may be on an end-of-contract hiatus … Also, there are generally more consultations or admissions during this time for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes,” Vergeire said.

Authorities also fear an increase in cases during the holidays when large numbers of people go shopping for gifts.

According to Vergeire, health authorities are already seeing telltale signs of an increase in the number of new infections. Nationwide, they have seen the two-week case growth rate “worsen” from -16 percent to -4 percent.

Metro Manila, Ilocos, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the Cagayan Valley have also experienced a trend change in some cases, from “negative to positive growth”. The number of new cases was higher in the National Capital Region (NCR), CAR, Calabarzon and Davao.

Reproductive rate

The reproduction rate across the country has also increased from 0.8 to more than 1, he said.

“For NCR, more than half of the cities have shown an increase in cases, while the remaining half have shown a slowdown in improvement. Greater vigilance is needed in all NCR local government units given [that their] proximity to each other increases the risk of transmission, “he said.

Vergeire said that the cases in Metro Manila “can reach more than 4,000 a day, which can overwhelm the capacity of our health system to more than 80 percent utilization by the end of January if we do not act aggressively to stop the broadcast now. “

On Thursday, the DOH registered 1,470 new cases, bringing the number of national cases to 454,447. Quezon City reported the highest number of new infections (74), followed by Rizal (64), Makati (58), Davao (55), and Quezon province (46). The number of survivors rose to 419,902 with the recovery of 633 patients. The death toll rose to 8,850 after the death of 17 patients.

Recoveries and deaths left the country with 25,695 active cases, of which 84.8 percent are mild, 6.9 percent asymptomatic, 0.3 percent moderate, 2.7 percent severe, and 5.4 percent critical. .

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