Duque: COVID-19 pandemic seems contained

MANILA, Philippines — For the first time since COVID broke out in the country in March 2020, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said yesterday that COVID-19 appears to have been contained in the country.

“So far, given our measures, our interventions, it appears to be contained and the data will support the claim,” Duque said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

Nevertheless, he advised the incoming administration of president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the public against throwing caution to the wind.

“We are realistic to accept the fact that the virus is notorious for mutation. It is capable of springing surprises,” the health chief warned.

He cited how late last year, it also seemed that the pandemic had been controlled as cases nationwide dropped to less than 200 a day.

But the entry of the COVID-19 variant Omicron into the country triggered a surge that drove infection numbers to as high as 35,000 daily in January, recalled Duque.

“So we have to be realistic, we should temper our expectations,” he said.

The health chief recommended to the next administration to always be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

“This is one piece of advice that I would like to get across to the next administration: despite the current stage of the pandemic right now, we must always be prepared for the worst scenario. That is very important,” Duque stressed.

For instance, the new government should undertake a thorough study before deciding to lift the state of emergency declared by President Duterte due to the pandemic, he said.

“I hope they will really take time to study and to look at the metrics and what new information and science offer in terms of the evolving variants of concern,” he added.?

He also called for the institutionalization of the alert level system, which helped the government in addressing the pandemic. The system provides appropriate interventions depending on the alert level in a certain area.

Duque said it is up to the next administration whether or not to enact a law institutionalizing it in preparation for any pandemic or calamity.

Alert in NCR

Yesterday, a member of the OCTA Research Group said there is still no need to raise the alert level in the National Capital Region (NCR) despite the slight uptick in new COVID-19 cases the past week.

“Right now, we are not yet alarmed and we do not have to overreact and raise the alert level since the number of cases, even though it is increasing, is still low,” OCTA fellow Guido David said in Filipino during the Laging Handa briefing.

“We are still at low risk in Metro Manila,” he added.

From June 1 to 7, David said the average number of new cases in NCR increased to 90 per day, up 14 percent from around 79 daily new cases the preceding week.

He said the average number went down to as low as 63 new cases per day recorded several weeks ago.

“So the number of cases is slightly increasing,” he said. “It is not yet high, but there is a slight concern because the number is rising every week in Metro Manila.”

David said the uptick may be attributed to a combination of factors, including complacency in following health protocols, waning immunity from the vaccines and the entry of new Omicron subvariants of COVID-19.

He reiterated their call for the public to continue following health protocols and get booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines.

“We can still prevent this uptick in new cases. It is important that our countrymen get vaccinated and boostered. We have proven that this really helps in managing the pandemic,” he said, citing the country’s experience during the Omicron-driven surge in January.

On the proposal to lift the state of emergency declared due to the pandemic, David said it would be better to observe first the situation, given the rising number of new cases. – Janvic Mateo