PH’s daily COVID-19 cases not yet expected to hit 30,000 mark — OCTA

Dr. Guido David of OCTA Research. SCREENSHOT PHOTO FROM INQSIDE LOOK INTERVIEW

MANILA, Philippines— While the number of COVID-19 cases in the country may reach 20,000 per day, an OCTA Research fellow on Monday ruled out, for now, the possibility of surpassing 30,000 cases daily.

“Yung bilang ng kaso, maaari siyang humigit sa 20,000 cases per day lalo na medyo tumataas pa ang bilang, greater than one pa yung reproduction number sa buong bansa,” OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said in a televised briefing.

(The number of cases may surpass 20,000 cases per day since the reproduction number in the country is still greater than one.)

“Pero hindi pa naman natin nakikita na tataas siya na malayo sa 20,000. Maaaring humigit siya doon pero yung mga nagsasabi kung hanggang 30,000, wala pa naman yan sa nakikita natin ngayon. Kung magkakaroon ng downward trend sa Metro Manila, mag-peak na rin ang bilang ng kaso natin below 25,000,” he added.

(But we don’t see that it will increase or greatly exceed 20,000. It may be more than that but to those asking if it will reach 30,000, we don’t see that as of now. If we see a downward trend in Metro Manila, our cases will only peak below 25,000.)

Health officials have been recording at least 18,000 new COVID-19 cases in the country the past two days.

On Saturday, the Philippines hit a new record high of 19,441 COVID-19 cases in a day.

Due to the continuous threat of the more transmissible Delta variant, Guido stressed the importance of strictly implementing restrictions and the public’s compliance with minimum health standards.

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