No ‘drastic increases’ in COVID-19 cases after elections, says health expert

FILE PHOTO: Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvana is the director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the National Institutes of Health at the University of the Philippines Manila. (Photo from an RTVM video)

MANILA, Philippines — Despite earlier predictions of an election-induced COVID-19 surge in the Philippines, infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Salvaña said no significant rise in infections was monitored after the May 9 polls.

“We actually expected an increase much higher than this. But what we’re seeing now is about 200 cases a day, which is a nine percent [increase] from last week,” he said in a virtual media forum on Tuesday.

According to Salvaña, this as an indication of the COVID-19 vaccines’ efficacy as well as the importance of adhering to public health and safety protocols during potential superspreader events like the elections.

“What that is telling me is that even as we increase our mobility drastically, we’re not seeing drastic increases in [COVID-19] cases. And why is that? Because our interventions are working,” he stressed.

Dr. Rontgene Solante, chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Unit at the government-run San Lazaro Hospital, previously warned about a post-election rise in COVID-19 cases following reports of violated public health measures in some voting precincts.

The Department of Health, however, noted that daily reported COVID-19 infections during the week of the local and national elections held on May 9 remained below 200. Most of which were tagged as mild and asymptomatic, keeping hospital admissions at low-risk levels.

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