Commuters onboard public transport in Metro Manila. Independent analytics group OCTA Research on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, says Metro Manila is ready to be placed under COVID-19 Alert Level 1 as the region may only have less than 200 cases a day by the start of March.(File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said it would be disastrous if the country would revert to Alert Level 3 status, amid fears of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Concepcion said this in a statement, citing Go Negosyo’s town hall meeting “Booster to the Max” held online on April 25. During the meeting, experts were raising concerns and emphasizing the urgency for booster vaccinations.
“OCTA believes numbers will rise,” said OCTA Research’s Ranjit Rye.
This rise in cases is feared to send the country back to more restrictive measures and disrupt the momentum in its economic recovery.
Waning immunity
“It’s going to be disastrous if we move back to alert level 3 status,” said Concepcion, founder of Go Negosyo, which organized the town hall meeting.
He explained that the Ukraine crisis has already made it more challenging for the economy to fully gain momentum, and that waning immunity may send COVID-19 cases rising again.
Rise in new cases abroad
“We can’t afford two problems at the same time,” he said.
During the town hall meeting, OCTA Research fellow Guido David presented data that might point to a rise in cases in the Philippines.
“The increase in new COVID cases in South Africa, India and the United States makes it likely that the Philippines will see an increase in cases soon,” David said.
David explained that the three countries have had the same pandemic trend in the past as the Philippines and are likely predictive of what may happen in the country.
“How high and when, we don’t know yet,” he said, but added that the rise in cases might happen sometime soon. “Maybe May or June,” he said.