COVID research expert concerned over easing of quarantine age restrictions

FREE TEST Vendors at Pritil market inManila get free swab tests for the coronavirus in this file photo. —RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — An expert who is part of the OCTA research group on Wednesday expressed concern over the government’s decision to ease quarantine age restrictions, saying that the age group of 55 years old and up have high risks of dying from COVID-19.

“Medyo concerning din yan. Kasi yung 65 and up, ang case fatality rate nan is nasa mga 15 percent pataas,” Dr. Guido David of the OCTA research group said in an interview over Teleradyo.

(That is also concerning. Because those 65 and up, their case fatality rate is at 15 percent.)

“Yung mga 55 to 64, nasa seven percent. So mataas din yung case fatality rate sa 55 to 64 age group,” he added.

(Those 55 to 64, it’s at seven percent. So they have a high case fatality rate as well.)

This comes after President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet approved to expand the age group who are allowed to go outside of their homes during community quarantine.

Under the current policy of the government’s COVID-19 task force, those aged below 21 to above 60 years old are required to stay home with the exception of work and accessing necessities.

But Palace spokesman Harry Roque said that it is up to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to decide what age group is allowed to go out.

“Babaguhin talaga yung edad pero let me see, I think we will give some leeway to the IATF to actually fix kung anong edad ‘yan,” Roque said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

(The age restriction will be changed but let me see, I think we will give some leeway to the IATF to actually fix what age is that.)

“I think mabababa yung edad ng kabataan at matataas yung edad ng mga seniors. I think I’m almost sure that 65 will be the age for seniors, hindi lang ako sigurado at what age it will be [set for] the young people,” he added.

Guido, meanwhile, said that those 0 to 54 years old have a one to 1.5 percent case fatality rate.

“So wala naman tayo problema kung medyo lumalabas yung mga mas bata kasi hindi naman mataas yung case fatality rate,” the expert  said.

(So we don’t have a problem if they go out because they have a low case fatality rate percentage.)

“I would be concerned sa mga taong 55 to 64, even though pwede na silang lumabas (they may be allowed to go out), I would caution them from going outside,” he then added.

EDV