DOH not expecting a lockdown after May 9 elections
MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Saturday that they do not foresee a lockdown after the national and local elections on May 9.
"Hindi. Sa ngayon, walang indicasyon para maglockdown. Kung meron man lockdown, granular na lang iyan, 'yung mga kalye-kalye lang o building," Duque said in an interview with Dobol B TV.
("No. Right now, there is no indication that we will have a lockdown. If ever we have a lockdown, it will be granular— which will cover streets or buildings.)
He explained they do not expect a widespread lockdown after the elections, citing that many Filipinos were already vaccinated against COVID-19 and are receiving booster doses which strengthen their immunity against the virus.
DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje echoed Duque's statements during a Laging Handa briefing, saying that granular lockdowns may be placed if there will be a surge after the elections.
"Hindi naman significant ang mga increase ng [COVID-19] cases, although we should not be putting our guards down. Tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang pagmonitor natin ng ating mga kaso," she said.
(The increase in COVID-19 cases is not significant, although we should not be putting our guards down. We continue to monitor the cases.")
Some 67.5 million voters are expected to flock to polling centers to cast their ballots this May 9. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said that those who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 can still cast their votes in designated isolation areas. However, those who test positive for the virus will be barred from leaving their isolation facilities to vote, based on Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF)’s existing guidelines.
Cases rising
OCTA Research Group fellow Butch Ong said that COVID-19 cases have been rising as the reproduction number — or the number of people infected by one case — is higher at 0.71.
"Medyo mas bahagyang umakyat pero hindi pa naman gaano ka alarming 'yung ating daily rate ay below 200 pa lamang and karamihan sa mga probinsya, nasa double digit or single digit," he said in a Laging Handa briefing.
("It slightly increased, but it's still not alarming since our daily rate is -still below 200 cases, and many provinces are in the double-digit or single-digit.")
Ong said they will be closely monitoring the National Capital Region, Cavite, Rizal, Cotabato, Zamboanga and Batangas areas in the run-up to elections.
RELATED: COVID-19 surge possible if immunity of 50% jabbed wanes
'Omicron sub-variant not of concern'
On Saturday, Duque said there is no need to worry about the new Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12, which was first detected in the country from a Finnish traveller earlier this week, since it is not listed as a variant of interest.
"Hindi naman ito natukoy ng WHO [World Health Organization] bilang isang variant of interest. Lalo na hindi rin siya natukoy as variant of concern," he said.
(The sub variant is not identified by WHO as a variant of interest. It is not also listed as a variant of concern.")
Authorities said on April 28 that the 1st BA.2.12 case had 44 close contacts, most of which were fully vaccinated and some tested negative for the virus. BA 2.12 is a sublineage of the circulating Omicron variant which has been flagged by the United States Center for Disease Control after a spike in COVID-19 cases in the States.
The DOH registered an additional 184 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing up the total number of infections in the country to 3,685,403.
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