THE coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading faster throughout the country, the independent OCTA Research Team said yesterday, saying the virus’ reproduction rate has shot up to 1.55.
In a televised public briefing, Dr. Guido David said the reproduction rate went up to 1.55 on Monday (August 16), from 1.46 on Saturday (August 14). The World Health Organization has said that the ideal reproduction rate is less than 1.
“This means that the transmission of the virus in the country is becoming faster,” said David.
“This increase started slowly and wasn’t that obvious. But it suddenly accelerated and we saw a large number of cases,” he added.
Last week, the Department of Health (DOH) said the entire Philippines is already at “high risk” from COVID-19 due to the continued increase in cases and high daily attack rate.
David, like the DOH, said that cases even in areas placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), will not immediately go down.
“Based on history, last August 2020 and March 2021, it usually takes four to five weeks before we see the gradual decrease in cases. This means we cannot immediately see the effects of the enhanced community quarantine,” David said.
David said the reduction of cases can be hastened if community restrictions will be strictly implemented.
“If the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) decides to extend (the ECQ), they could probably tighten the implementation of the restrictions. We have been hearing reports of social gatherings,” he said.
David also appealed to the public to do their part by faithfully adhering to the minimum public health standards.
“To our kababayans, let us avoid social gatherings at this time. There is a proper time for it. If we can survive this Delta variant, we can loosen restrictions already until Christmas. But for now, let us exercise more patience,” he said.
During the “Laging Handa” public briefing, David said there is no need to place the entire country under a strict lockdown, even as he emphasized the need for stricter border controls and observance of pocket quarantines to protect areas that still have no variant cases.
“The total lockdown is not needed in the whole country. What is important is for the regions that has no variant transmission to protect their borders,” David said, adding that granular lockdowns could be imposed depending on the situation in the regions or provinces.
He reiterated the importance of implementing border controls, strict adherence to quarantine and isolation protocols, and sustaining compliance to the minimum health protocols.
David said COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) continue to rise amid the reimposition of the ECQ. Higher cases are also observed in Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal and in the Central Luzon region.
David also said that they have observed a rise by four to five percent in COVID-19 cases among minors, or those aged 17 and below, in Metro Manila since July.
He said that from 7 percent in July, pediatric cases now account for 11 to 12 percent of cases this August.
He also said there is an increase in the number of unvaccinated people who are hospitalized due to COVID-19.
“Those unvaccinated are being admitted to intensive care units, and there are a lot of children getting infected,” David said.
Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire, in a briefing, reiterated that it is not yet time to vaccinate children against COVID-19, or administer booster shots on those who are already fully vaccinated.
She said households with kids should ensure that all adults are fully vaccinated to reduce the chance of infecting the children.
The government is eyeing the vaccination of minors by the end of September to early October.
DELTA CASES
In Quezon, Gov. Danilo Suarez asked the IATF to declare a stricter community quarantine in the province after eight cases caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus was reported in three towns.
Quezon is currently under general community quarantine (GCQ). As of yesterday, the province has recorded a total of 18,321 COVID-19 cases — of which 1,262 are active cases; 16,195 have already recovered, and 864 have died.
Suarez said four Delta cases were reported in Dolores town, where one remains active and the other three declared as recovered.
Two residents who recently returned from Metro Manila were reported to be infected with the Delta variant in Sariaya town. The towns of Tiaong and Real each recorded one case.
Suarez said the patient in Tiaong is also a returning resident.
Suarez urged his constituents to stay at home if they have nothing important to do outdoors.
He likewise urged the health department to provide additional vaccine doses to the provincial government so it can ramp up the inoculation of residents and to control the further spread of the virus in Quezon.
In Muntinlupa, City Health Office (CHO) chief Dr. Juancho Bunyi said the city has recorded for the last two weeks a significant rise in the average number of daily confirmed cases.
From 47 average daily cases before the ECQ was imposed, Bunyi said the city recorded an average of 118 cases per day in the past two weeks.
He also said the city’s attack rate is now at 30.24 per 1,000 population, while its positivity rate is at 13.16 percent.
Meanwhile, the Ospital ng Muntinlupa reported that it has reached 103 percent of its COVID-19 bed capacity rate, with 106 patients admitted as of August 15. OsMun has also reached 115 percent of its total bed occupancy rate, with 237 patients admitted. — With Jocelyn Montemayor, Victor Reyes, and Noel Talacay
