NCR‘s daily COVID cases may range from 16,000 to 43,000 by Sept. 30 — DOH

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila’s daily COVID-19 cases may range from 16,000 to 43,000 by September 30, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday as the government races against the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. In a statement, the DOH said that “based on a set of assumptions, daily cases in NCR for September 30 may range from 16,000 to 43,000.” “The assumptions used included mobility, public health and healthcare capacities and system, and the public’s adherence to the minimum public health standards (MPHS),” the agency explained. During the Laging Handa public briefing, DOH epidemiology bureau director Alethea De Guzman said that COVID-19 cases per day in Metro Manila might hit 30,000 by the end of September. However, the DOH clarified that the figure mentioned by De Guzman is “not cast in stone and can change,” especially with granular lockdowns, active case finding, and vaccination. Metro Manila is under modified enhanced community quarantine until September 7. With the projected increase in cases, the DOH called on local government units to lower the interval between case detection to isolation, strictly monitor the public’s adherence to the MPHS, and ramp up the pacing of vaccination to lower daily cases in Metro Manila.