WHO official: New number of COVID-19 cases in PH ‘kind of stabilized, a bit’

MANILA, Philippines — The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has “kind of stabilized, a bit” over two months into strict quarantine restrictions, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday as the country recorded the highest single-day increase in new infections in over a month.

In a televised press briefing by the Department of Health (DOH), Dr. Takeshi Nishijima, WHO Western Pacific regional office technical officer, said that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines “is not rapidly decreasing” even after the imposition of lockdown, however, he noted that the situation now has stabilized.

“In the Philippines, we are seeing the new number of cases which is kind of stabilized, a bit. We are hoping that it will decrease in the future but I think we need to be prepared to continue what we (are doing) right now,” Nishijima said.

The confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines continue to swell on a daily basis although the DOH earlier said that the pandemic curve has started to flatten.

On Tuesday, DOH reported 350 new coronavirus infections, the highest single-day tally since April 6 when it recorded 414.

As of May 26, some 14,669 in the Philippines are found positive for SARS-CoV-2 – the new coronavirus that causes the severe respiratory illness, COVID-19. Of the total cases, 3,412 recovered while 886 died.

President Duterte is expected to make a decision this week whether or not Metro Manila and other areas deemed high risk to COVID-19 infection will transition to a more relaxed general community quarantine.

To date, over 5.5 million people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus that was first detected in Hubei, China in late 2019.

KGA