DOH: COVID-19 cases still increasing at ‘fast rate;’ NCR still at ‘high risk’

Facade of the DOH main office in Manila. INQUIRER.net file photo / Consuelo Marquez

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said that Metro Manila is still classified as “high-risk” due to a continuing surge in COVID-19 cases.

In an online press briefing, DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said that the country’s COVID-19 cases are still “increasing at a fast rate.”

“Yung nakita last week, yung peak natin nitong nakaraang linggo ay humigit na nga po doon sa peak last year, first week of August of 2020,” de Guzman said.

(What we saw last week, the surge in numbers, actually exceeded last year’s peak, during the first week of August 2020.)

Last week, the country has seen a consecutive rise in new COVID-19 cases, with the highest so far would be Monday, March 22’s record of 8,019 fresh COVID-19 infections.

The 8,019 cases surpassed Aug. 10, 2020’s record of 6,958 COVID-19 infections in being the highest single-day tally since the pandemic reached the Philippines.

“Kung titignan natin yung classification ng bawat isang rehiyon base sa gaano kabilis ang pagtaas ng kaso nila at laki ng population nila na affected, nasa high risk na po ang NCR [National Capital Region],” de Guzman later said.

(If we will look at the classification of each region based on how high the cases are, as well as how its population is affected NCR is still considered as a “high risk.”)

Meanwhile, de Guzman added that five regions—namely Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Western Visayas, and Caraga—were classified as “moderate risk” for COVID-19.

As of Wednesday, March 24, the DOH has reported 6,666 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s active infections to 91,754.

JPV