DOH: Optional indoor masking likely to cause spike
AS much as 18,000 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases may be reported daily come November and December, especially with the forthcoming lifting of the mandatory face mask mandate in indoor areas.
This is the projection of the Department of Health (DOH) days after it was announced that President Marcos has approved the voluntary wearing of face masks in indoor settings, except in healthcare facilities, medical transport, and public transport. An executive order is set to be issued by Malacañang.
“Based on the scientific projections that has been done by our experts, once we loosen up the masking, our (daily) cases towards November and December could be from 2,500 to around 18,000 cases,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a television interview yesterday.
“Expectedly, cases are here, and it’s going to increase,” she said.
Vergeire, however, stressed that the rise in cases cannot just be blamed on the easing of mask policies but also on other factors.
“There are new subvariants that have been here in the country, which have evaded our immunity. There is also the high interaction among one another,” she said.
Nevertheless, the DOH officer-in-charge said what is more vital is for the country to be able to maintain a low healthcare utilization rate.
“Even in this recent spike in cases. We were able to accommodate the patients. We were able to manage. Hopefully, we’ll also be able to manage in the coming months,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire again appealed to the public to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, saying: “Now that we are easing restrictions, the one major thing that can protect us is the vaccine. If we are vaccinated, even if the one beside us has no mask, we will be protected against severe infection of COVID-19.”
DOH — Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman on Wednesday warned that
aside from the threats of coronavirus variants and subvariants, the voluntary wearing of face masks in indoor areas is likely to cause an uptick in cases in the country.
“As we all know, every time we take out or remove a layer of protection, we can expect that cases will increase,” she has said.
Infectious diseases expert Rontgene Solante has also earlier raised concerns about the easing of the indoor masking policy amid the threats from new Omicron subvariants.
Solante said the people should be more careful, especially as a sudden increase in cases could overwhelm the country’s healthcare utilization.
The Kabataan party-list, on the other hand, has also cautioned against the “normalization” of COVID-19, insisting the need for scientific health protocols.
“By making masks optional and giving up on the other aforementioned measures, the Philippine government is following the trend to ‘normalize’ the spread of COVID-19. Ironically, this approach prolongs the pandemic by giving the variants of the coronavirus more opportunities to become more evasive of the immunity provided by COVID-19 vaccines,” it said earlier this week.
It reminded the Executive that COVID-19 is an airborne disease, which means that the virus is “primarily spread through the air,” the spread of which is slowed down by the wearing of well-fitting masks and the upgrading of ventilation and air filtration.
President Marcos has said that “it is the time to start” looking at COVID-19 as a regular medical condition. “Even in the psychology of our people, they think that we are now managing COVID very well,” he has said.
