Even as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continued to rise, the Department of Health (DOH) maintained on Friday that the country had begun to flatten the epidemic curve as the percentage of persons testing positive for the virus continued to decline.
But Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire was also qualified in reporting this observation.
“No country is really ready to face this kind of uncertainty. Even if we are saying that we have flattened the curve, we still have to prepare for the next fight,” she said in a press briefing.
Apart from the “slower case and mortality doubling time,” she said, the drop in “positivity rate” is another indicator. Of the 131,786 unique tests conducted since February to May 6, 13,405 returned positive for the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
This resulted in a positivity rate of 10 percent—compared to 17 percent that was recorded on April 6, when 4,144 out of 24,755 tests conducted at that time came back positive for the virus.
According to Dr. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines, the current positivity rate shows the country is doing well in addressing the outbreak, since the World Health Organization’s benchmark is 10 percent.
Surge, slowdown
Vergeire pointed out, however, that the likelihood remained of another wave of infections that is “faster and would affect more persons” would occur.
“That is why we at the DOH continue to remind [the public] that we should be vigilant. If we become complacent and stop following health guidelines, the question is not if but when will the surge occur,” she said.
“We are better off now than we were three months ago. And we will be even better prepared three months from now. But the war is not over yet. Remember the guidelines and stay safe,” she said.
Earlier, the DOH said that on average, it now takes 4.6 days for COVID-19 cases across the country to double, longer than the 2.5 days recorded in March.
A slowdown in incidents of COVID-19 deaths was also observed nationwide. From four days, the average time for the number of deaths to double nationwide is now at 5.7 days.
It now takes 5.6 days for deaths to double in the National Capital Region. It is even longer outside Metro Manila: 7.8 days in Luzon, 7.7 days in Mindanao and seven days in the Visayas.
As of Friday, there were a total of 10,463 cases in the country as the DOH recorded 120 new infections, 70 percent of which were in Metro Manila.
The number of recoveries climbed to 1,734, with the recovery of 116 more patients.
The death toll rose to 696, with 11 more patients succumbing to the severe respiratory disease.
Vergeire noted a slowdown in the number of health-care workers infected, even as the total number of medical frontliners who got sick increased to 1,934. Of this number, 449 have recovered while 34 have died.
Government volunteers
Some 800 government employees from various agencies have signed up to help in the four mass testing facilities set up in Luzon, according to Vivencio Dizon, president of Bases Conversion and Development Authority and a deputy chief implementer of the government’s COVID-19 response.
On Thursday, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued a memo ordering Cabinet members to tap at least 100 employees from their respective agencies who can work as encoders and barcoders in the four testing facilities at located Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Enderun Colleges in Taguig City, Palacio de Maynila and the Philippine Arena in Bulacan province.
The government volunteers will receive hazard pay or special risk allowances, when applicable, Medialdea said.