MANILA, Philippines — COVID-19 cases nationwide are “plateauing,” Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Friday.
According to Vergeire, the country recorded a total of 2,499 new COVID-19 cases from March 31 to April 6, for an average of 357 new infections per day.
“When we say it’s plateauing, it means tumigil, nag-plateau siya, so dati bumababa tapos bigla siyang nag-plateau, tumigil ‘yung pagbaba o nag-susustain siya at that level. Ganoon din kung tumataas tapos nag-plateau siya, nag-sustain siya at that level,” she explained in an online media briefing.
(When we say it’s plateauing, it means cases stopped from decreasing or increasing and are sustained at that level.)
Vergeire further explained that COVID-19 cases may reach a plateau because the number of new coronavirus infections per day has reached the minimum it can get given the current situation.
“But it is not bad kasi mababa naman ‘yung mga kaso dito sa ating (because cases are low in our) areas in the country,” she added.
Vergeire also noted that when COVID-19 cases reach a plateau, cases may either further decrease or increase – stressing it is important to encourage a decrease in the number of cases through strict observance of health protocols and vaccination.
“It is either bad or good, kaya lang kailangan ang gusto natin ma-sustain ang good side nito, ‘yung patuloy na pagbaba ng mga kaso sa ating bansa,” she added.
(It is either bad or good, but what we want is to sustain the good side of it, which is to continue to lower cases in the country.)
The DOH official additionally reported that the COVID-19 positivity rate in the country dropped in the recent week to 1.8 percent from the preceding week’s 2 percent.
In March, Vergeire said the decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases has slowed down in the past weeks.
Based on the COVID-19 tracker of the DOH, the Philippines’ active coronavirus cases were at 31,472 as of April 7.
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