4 NCR cities among emerging COVID-19 hotspots – DOH

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday identified four emerging COVID-19 hotspots in Metro Manila following the continued rise in coronavirus infections in the country.

In a televised press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Metro Manila and its neighboring regions showed a “notable” increase in COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks.

Vergeire said emerging hotspots include the cities of Marikina with 51 new cases and 41.43% growth rate; Muntinlupa with 30 cases and 35.16% growth rate; Quezon City with 406 cases and 34.5% growth rate; and Makati City with 135 cases and 30.18% growth rate.

Cases in the Visayas are “seen to be slowly decreasing,” Vergeire said.

“But we must continue to monitor the area if the decrease will be sustained,” she added.

Clustering of cases

The Health official likewise announced that they are monitoring the clustering of COVID-19 cases in 64 barangays in Cebu and in 314 barangays in the National Capital Region.

Aside from these barangays, there were also three “closed-setting facilities” with clustering of cases in Metro Manila including the cases in the MRT-3, which has been placed under a temporary shutdown after over 180 of its personnel tested positive for the respiratory disease.

There are currently 46,333 COVID-19 cases nationwide, including 12,185 recoveries and 1,303 deaths.