Says Omicron-driven cases dropping
THE worst is over for most areas hit by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case surges driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the independent OCTA Research said yesterday, as it noted a downtrend in new infections in the National Capital Region (NCR) and in provinces in Luzon and Visayas.
Speaking at a media forum, OCTA fellow Guido David said: “We believe that the worst is over in most parts of the country… because cases have peaked or are peaking.”
David cited as examples Metro Manila and its neighbor regions of Calabarzon and Central Luzon.
“The surge has already been, has already matured, and now on a downward trend in many other provinces, especially in Visayas and Luzon,” he said.
On the other hand, David noted how there are still some parts of the country that are still seeing surges in cases.
“Most of these provinces are in Mindanao. What happened there is that the surge happened later in these provinces, thus they are still at an accelerating stage,” he explained.
David said cases that are not tested, as well as those tested with antigen but are not reported, are also starting to decline.
“Not only is the number of new cases decreasing, but even the number of unreported cases is also decreasing at a significant rate,” David said, citing as basis the results of the random antigen tests conducted by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on 343 railway passengers on January 26 and 27.
The DOTr results showed a positivity rate of 0.6 percent, or less than one percent.
“This means that the actual number of cases, which include asymptomatic and symptomatic cases not tested, and those tested with antigen but not reported, could be 1.8 times higher than the official numbers reported by DOH (Department of Health),” said the OCTA fellow.
“This is much lower than the estimate that new cases could be 10 times higher than the reported numbers based on the previous DOTr random antigen testing on January 12 and 13,” David also said.
The DOH had admitted that the government doesn’t have the complete picture of COVID-19 cases in the country as it does not count those using the antigen tests and those individuals who have symptoms or had been exposed but are not tested.
OCTA issued its observation amid the gradual decline in the COVID-19 cases being reported by the DOH, and the reclassification of Metro Manila as “moderate” risk from the virus.
David said that despite this improvement in the COVID-19 situation, the public should avoid becoming complacent against the virus.
“This doesn’t mean of course that it’s all clear. We should still follow public health protocols as we go out. There’s still a significant number of cases,” said David.
The Department of Health yesterday reminded the public that individuals who test positive via self-administered test kits are mandated by the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act to report their cases to the government.
Department Memorandum No. 2022-0033 also states: “All individuals with a positive self-antigen test shall report to their Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) or healthcare provider. Reporting of results of self-administered antigen test is mandatory.”
In turn, the DOH said all healthcare providers must report cases by filling out a COVID-19 Case Investigation Form (CIF) within 24 hours of detection and submit the accomplished CIF to their Local Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.
Under Republic Act No. 11332, any person or entity found to have violated the law shall be penalized with a fine between P20,000 to P50,000 or imprisonment for a period of one to six months.
The directive was issued as part of the DOH’s Guidelines on the Use of Self-Administered Antigen Testing for COVID-19.
This comes on the heels of the approval on the use of Abbot’s Panbio COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test and Labnovation Technologies’ SARS-COV-2 Antigen Rapid Test by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to the health department, the self-administered antigen testing is advisable for use of symptomatic individuals.
“Self-administered antigen testing shall be recommended only for symptomatic individuals within seven days from onset of symptoms,” said the DOH.
On the other hand, it said the self-test kits are not advisable for asymptomatic individuals.
