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The Department of Health (DoH) is closely monitoring Metro Manila after 12 cities in the capital region recorded an alarming increase in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Undersecretary of Health María Rosario Vergiere said in a media forum Wednesday that initially eight cities posted a reproduction number, or R0 (pronounced “R null”) of more than 1.
An R0 of 1 or more is an indication that the infection rate has increased in the past two weeks.
“This is a warning sign for us to begin to focus and begin strict monitoring among all other cities in Metro Manila,” Vergeire said.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd updated the figure, saying that four more cities registered an R0 above 1.
The DoH did not identify the cities, but Duque indicated that they will present their own screenings Thursday.
Duque also affirmed the Octa Research Group’s finding of increases in Covid-19 cases in the country that could be a sign that a “third wave” of cases could arrive after the Christmas season.
He said the Health Department was intensifying its visits to public places like shopping malls, markets and transportation terminals to remind the public to observe health protocols.
Duque reminded the public that it is now mandatory to wear face shields in addition to face masks outside of homes.
On Wednesday, the Health Department reported 1,156 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total to 452,988.
Davao City led the independent provinces and cities with the highest number of new cases with 126, followed by Quezon City, Rizal Province, Bulacan and Manila.
Recoveries totaled 419,282 and deaths were 8,833.
In Wednesday’s forum, Duque also denied that the Philippines had missed an opportunity to acquire around 10 million doses of the vaccine created by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Duque was reacting to a tweet from Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. that the country may have received its share of the vaccine, which is now administered in the UK, Canada and the US.
Locsin said that he and the Philippine Ambassador to the United States, José Manuel Romualdez, had negotiated with the US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, the Philippine participation in the vaccine.
“We got 10 million doses of Pfizer financed by the World Bank and ADB (Asian Development Bank) to be shipped through [Federal Express] to Clark in January. But someone dropped the ball, I have steel ball bearings. I just need a slingshot, ”Locsin tweeted Monday.
Duque said there was no “dropping the ball” in the Pfizer deal, and that negotiations were still ongoing.
The DoH was verifying the conditions in the confidentiality disclosure agreement (CDA) of the deal, he said.
It wasn’t until Sept. 24 that Pfizer specified that the DoH should be the one signing the CDA, not the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), Duque said.
He said he just wants to make sure the contract with Pfizer is straightforward and is not disadvantageous to the Philippine government.
“I had to refer this to our attorneys, the DoST attorneys, and the executive secretary, [and on] On October 20, the day this was delivered to me, I already signed it. So there is no such thing as ‘dropping the ball,’ ”Duque said.
The vaccine czar and the chief secretary for Covid-19 implementation of the National Task Force, Carlito Gálvez Jr., also signed a CDA with the drug manufacturer in November, “he said.
Duque emphasized that all vaccines would follow the same regulatory process, either for clinical trials or for authorization of emergency use.
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