COVID-19 surge still possible, DOH warns public

Health workers in Ilocos Norte continue to conduct aggressive contact tracing to contain the spread of COVID-19. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ low-risk classification for COVID-19 should not spur people to be complacent about safety measures against coronavirus infections, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Saturday.

Vergeire said there were parts of the country where cases are still increasing, and if people do not follow health protocols, infections could rise again.

“This low risk classification should not really be advertised or should not encourage our countrymen to be complacent. This just means we have been able to manage our cases, but there are still increases in other areas, which is why we need to continue to be careful,” Vergeire said at the Laging Handa briefing.

On Saturday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 5,908 new infections, pushing the country’s total tally to 1,430,419.

Ninety new fatalities brought the total death count to 25,063 individuals, as of Saturday, although there were 7,698 more recoveries, bringing the total number of survivors to 1,351,691.

Visayas, Mindanao watched

These deaths and recoveries left 53,665 active cases, of which 91.2 percent are mild cases.

But the DOH is keeping a close watch on Western, Central and Eastern Visayas; Davao Region, Soccsksargen; Caraga; Bangsamaro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; Zamboanga Peninsula; and Northern Mindanao, Vergeire said.

In Luzon, the DOH has been keeping watch on Lucena City, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Autonomous Region, she said.

Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas and Davao Region have also reported a high health-care utilization rate, she said.

She said Octa Research was correct in saying that the situation in the country was very fragile at this point and people need to be careful in order to keep cases down.

She noted that even if cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) have been declining, this has slowed down in the past weeks, and the DOH is keeping a close eye on the developments.

‘Very fragile situation’

“That’s why we always say the situation is very fragile. There are many factors that could affect and that could cause an increase in cases here. And another thing is cases in other areas could affect NCR because our borders are very porous, which is why we really need to be careful,” she said.

This could be attributed to mobility and failure to comply with health protocols, which has led to clustering of cases, she said.

There is also a need to ramp up vaccinations in the country, she added.

Experts have said that if vaccination in NCR improves and health protocols continue to be followed, a surge in cases could be prevented, she said.

But if the protocols are not implemented properly, vaccinations are not ramped up, and people continue to be mobile, cases in NCR could increase, she added.