THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said seven local government units in Metro Manila have recorded growth in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the past two weeks.
In a virtual press briefing, DOH – Epidemiology Bureau (EB) Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said the increasing trend were seen in the cities of Makati (22%), San Juan (10%), Muntinlupa (3%), Mandaluyong (30%), Manila (5%), Malabon (33%), and Navotas (116%).
“These NCR cities have increasing trend over the past 2 weeks, with cases of getting ill now slightly above the 7-day moving average,” De Guzman said.
De Guzman said Makati and San Juan also have average daily attack rates of 9.76 and 8.95, respectively, and have been classified as being at “high risk.”
On the other hand, classified as being at “moderate risk” due to increasing average daily attack rates are Muntinlupa (5.99), Mandaluyong (5.92), Manila (4.46), Malabon (3.78), and Navotas (3.59).
De Guzman, however, said that on the overall, Metro Manila remains to be at “low risk” with a negative 6 percent growth rate and 4.70 average daily attack rate.
Metro Manila is comprised of 16 cities and one municipality. It is considered the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in the country.
At the same time, De Guzman also said that three regions outside of the National Capital Region remains to be at high risk and two others at moderate risk.
“Regions outside NCR (National Capital Region) are still contributing the most to new cases tally,” said De Guzman in reference to the period of June 27 to July 10.
Considered as high risk are Davao Region, due to its 9 percent growth rate and 9.94 daily attack rate; Western Visayas, due to its 3 percent growth rate and 8.35 daily attack rate; and the Cordillera Administrative Region, due to its 10 percent growth rate and 7.09 daily attack rate.
Classified as moderate risk, on the other hand, are Ilocos Region, due to its 65 percent growth rate and 6.15 daily attack rate; and Mimaropa, due to its 2 percent growth rate and 4.03 daily attack rate.
The trend in the five regions goes in contrast with the classification of the country, which is still deemed as “low risk” with a negative 10 percent growth rate and 4.88 ADAR.
“Nationally, overall case risk classification remained low with average daily attack rate continuing to decrease in the recent week,” said De Guzman.
The remaining 12 regions, meanwhile, match the trend of the Philippines as a whole with negative two-week growth rates and low average daily attack rates.
“In the NCR Plus areas, they are plateauing. The number of reported cases in the NCR and the Plus areas are almost similar,” said de Guzman, adding: “In the Visayas and Mindanao, while they peaked around mid-June, there is now a decline in cases.”
Despite already seeing a stark improvement in Metro Manila, the independent OCTA Research Team yesterday said it the central region is still not ready to be placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
In a televised public briefing, OCTA Research fellow Prof. Ranjit Rye said the region needs to remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the remainder of July.
“In the NCR, I think we should continue with the GCQ, although we can further ease restrictions for business establishments,” said Rye, stressing: “We are not yet ready for MGCQ. That is definite. We do not qualify even based on government’s criteria for MGCQ.
We won’t qualify yet, as of now.”
Rye said their reservations is due to the prevailing threat of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
He said easing restrictions may cause the public to become complacent despite the threat of the variant.
“Many are becoming confident and negligent of the minimum public health standards. We want to remind them that COVID-19 is still here, alive and kicking, and you may be infected if you are not careful,” said Rye.
“The fight is not yet over. We also have the threat of the Delta variant,” he added.
In its latest Monitoring Report, the group noted of the steady trend in Metro Manila in terms of the number of new cases reported daily.
“The NCR had an average of 634 new COVID-19 cases per day for the period from July 6 to 12, 2021. This was 2 percent lower than the previous week’s daily average of 646,” it said.
“Over the past three weeks, the weekly growth rate has averaged -3 percent, which indicates that the trend is nearly level or flat, i.e. neither increasing nor decreasing,” it also said.
The current reproduction number in Metro Manila is at 0.93, while the positivity rate remained at 6 percent.
The OCTA also noted that the incidence rate in the NCR is at 4.59 per day per 100,000, with all LGUs registering below 10, which is classified as moderate risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday downgraded from being a “variant of interest” (VOI) to “alerts for further monitoring” the coronavirus variant first detected in the Philippines.
In a virtual press briefing, National Institute of Health (NIH) Executive Director Dr. Eva Maria dela Paz disclosed that the WHO has changed its classification of the “Theta” variant to “P.3” variant only.
“Theta or the P.3 or the VOI first identified in the Philippines has been taken out of the list, and is now being classified as an alert for further monitoring,” said Dela Paz.
She said the development comes after there was an observed reduction in the threat posed by the concerned variant.
“The understanding of the impact of this virus are expected to evolve in information updates reflecting these new evidences as they become available because the WHO periodically reviews and adjusts its working definitions,” said the NIH head.
“A previously designated variant of concern (VOC) and VOI, which has conclusively demonstrated to no longer pose a major added risk to global public health compared to other circulating COVID-19 can be reclassified. So, this is a very important addition to the classification,” she added.
Aside from Theta, also reclassified to “alert for further monitoring” are the Epsilon and Zeta variants of COVID-19.
According to the WHO, a VOI are those that cause significant community transmission or multiple COVID-19 clusters, in multiple countries with increasing relative prevalence alongside increasing number of cases over time, or other apparent epidemiological impacts to suggest an emerging risk to global public health.
Those considered as VOI are Eta, Iota, Kappa, and Lambda.
On the other hand, the WHO states that those under “alerts for further monitoring” are those with genetic changes that are suspected to affect virus characteristics with some indication that it may pose a future risk, but evidence of phenotypic or epidemiological impact is still currently unclear.
Aside from the P.3, also in the list are B.1.427, P.2, R.1, B.1.466.2, B.1.621, AV.1, and B.1.1.318.
Despite this, the NIH official warned that the country cannot let its guard down against the P.3 variant as its classification is not immune to changes.
“These variants will continuously be monitored. If new evidence of impact emerges, their classification will be reassessed,” she said.
In the Philippines, there are 166 recorded cases of the Theta/P.3 variant, most of which are in the Central Visayas.
Meanwhile, Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong said the city has imposed stricter border control amid an increase in COVID-19 cases.
“We feel our cases are again rising so we’re stricter in our border control,” Magalong said during the Laging Handa press briefing, adding that some individuals, including tourists, have entered the city through deception.
“We have to be strict in our checkpoints because many were able to enter (fraudulently).
They’re toying with them (rules), that’s why we are being stricter,” said Magalong.
Also, Magalong said the city has intensified swab testing to account for people who have contracted the disease. — With Victor Reyes
