THE Philippines ended the year 2022 and started 2023 with less than 500 average daily coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.
The latest COVID-19 case bulletin showed an average of 494 cases daily for the period of December 26 to January 1, which is 39 percent lower than the 813 daily cases reported from December 19 to 25.
In total, the last seven days recorded a total of 3,458 COVID-19 cases. There were three additional severe and critical cases during the past week, with 164 deaths reported.
Likewise, the DOH reported there are currently 433 severe and critical cases in the country, as of January 1, of which 350 are occupying intensive care unit (ICU) beds, or 16.2 percent of the 2,155 total nationwide.
On the other hand, there are 3,110 patients occupying COVID-19 beds, which is 16.9 percent of the 18,412 total COVID-19 beds allocated nationwide.
The independent OCTA Research said the COVID-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) has dropped to 9.1 percent as of December 31, 2022 despite the numerous gatherings that occurred during the holiday season.
The number is lower than the 11.6 percent positivity rate in Metro Manila last December 24, 2022.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a threshold of 5 percent for positivity rate for COVID-19.
Aside from the NCR, the OCTA said 19 provinces in Luzon also saw dropping positivity rates over the final week of 2022.
The provinces are Albay (31.3% from 35.4%), Nueva Ecija (28% from 34.8%), Ilocos Sur (25.4% from 44.8%), Camarines Sur (16.6% from 27.3%), Rizal (15.8% from 23.4%), Quezon (14.2% from 15.4%), Pampanga (12.3% from 16.6%), Laguna (10.5% from 19%), Tarlac (10.4% from 15%), Kalinga (9.1% from 41.7%), Cavite (8.6% from 10.6%), Cagayan (8.5% from 14.3%), La Union (8.1% from 9.7%), Batangas (7.8% from 10.6%), Mountain Province (7.3% from 7.8%), Pangasinan (7.2% from 11.6%), Zambales (6.9% from 11.7%), Ilocos Norte (5.6% from 8.8%), and Bulacan (4.4% from 9.2%).
On the other hand, the group said three Luzon provinces are still seeing upticks in their positivity rates.
These are Isabela (37.6%), Bataan (13.7%), and Benguet (9%).
OCTA fellow Guido David has earlier said they have a better outlook for the COVID-19 trend in the final weeks of 2022 and the start of 2023, citing as proof the decline of the positivity rates in majority of the areas they are monitoring.
“We are seeing that the positivity rate in Metro Manila is already going down. Those in several provinces have also started going down. There are only a few of them with increasing positivity rates,” said David.
RESTRICTIONS
The DOH said that even as COVID-19 cases continue its resurgence in China, existing minimum public health standards (MPHS) in the Philippines remain effective.
“The DOH reiterates that imposing additional restrictions on incoming travelers or any revision in our protocols against COVID-19 for that matter should be science- and evidence-based,” it said in a statement, adding that “our current protocols remain effective against COVID-19, regardless of the variant.”
For the moment, the health department said increased border surveillance for those arriving from China would be adequate.
The DOH has issued Memorandum 2022-0578 ordering the intensified monitoring and implementation of border control protocols for incoming individuals, especially from China.
“As per our recent issuance, we have heightened border control and instructed strict implementation of health protocols in all of our borders and respective operating units.
Particularly for incoming vessels with history of travel from China, we have imposed meticulous process to assess vaccination status, exposure, and symptoms. This shall be met with strict implementation of quarantine and isolation protocols as warranted,” it said.
China, where the first case of COVID-19 was detected, has recently seen a rapid increase in cases, prompting several countries, including the United States, to heighten border control measures, including requiring negative COVID-19 tests for all travelers from mainland China.
Meanwhile, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the Bureau of Immigration is ready to implement possible restrictions for passengers flying in from China.
“We take the cue from the DOH, the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases), and the Office of the President on implementing travel restrictions. While we have not received any directive yet about it, we are ready at any time to implement any such measures that the government deems appropriate to prevent another surge in the Philippines,” Tansingco said.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the BI implemented country-specific travel bans to prevent the entry of certain variants into the country.
Tansingco said only 30,002 Chinese tourists entered the country in 2022 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, or only 0.48 percent of the BI’s total recorded arrivals of more than 6.1 million travelers last year.
“Chinese nationals used to take the second highest spot in the number of arrivals in the country, next to South Koreans. But during the pandemic, due to travel bans both here and in their home country, the number has drastically dropped,” he said. — With Ashzel Hachero
