THE Department of Health yesterday said severe and critical cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country are slowly on the rise even as the independent OCTA Research said a large part of the Philippines is already seeing a decline in the number of infections.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that “the percentage of severe and critical infections have been noted to be increasing for these past weeks.”
She cited DOH data showing an upward trend, to the .44 percent last August 21, from 0.36 percent last August 14 and 0.28 percent last August 7.
The numbers of admitted severe and critical cases have also been climbing, from 9.3 percent last August 7, to 9.6 percent last August 14, to 9.7 percent last August 21.
Vergeire said the records show that 60 percent of the serious cases confined in health facilities are either unvaccinated or just partially vaccinated.
She said, however, that the rising numbers are not yet a cause for concern but did not explain why.
Amid the increase in severe and critical cases, OCTA fellow Guido David said the current COVID surge could be ending soon as majority of the country’s regions and provinces is already seeing a downward trend in cases as seen in the national case growth rate and reproduction number.
“We are currently seeing continuous decline in cases in the whole country. Majority of the provinces and local government units are seeing fewer cases,” said David.
“In fact, there is a negative growth rate in the Philippines at negative 14 percent, while the reproduction number is already at less than 1, or at 0.97,” he added.
David said that only a few areas in Cagayan Valley and Zamboanga Peninsula are still seeing upward trends. “But we expect that they will also start going down soon,” he said.
Asked to where the improving numbers can be attributed to, David said it is mainly due to the high vaccination rate in the country.
“There are more than 70 million vaccinated Filipinos. We have a strong wall of immunity,” he said.
Given the trend, the OCTA fellow said they are hoping that the current wave in the country is already coming to an end.
This, he said, would mean that cases would be low come the “ber” months.
“Hopefully, the wave is coming to an end. It is not yet over, of course. There is still that risk of infection. But since we have reached the peak… It is not a guarantee. But hopefully, we will continue the trend on the way to reaching pre-surge levels of less than 1,000 cases per day,” David said.