THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday projected coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases per day may continue to jump and reach more than 600 come the middle of May.
The health department reported that COVID infections averaged 278 daily during the week of April 3 to 9.
“Based on our latest projections, as of April 11, we can have 289 cases up to 611 cases daily cases by May 15,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing on Wednesday.
“In the National Capital Region (NCR) alone, we can have at the very least 30 cases to about 122 cases daily by May 15,” she said, adding that there has been an increase in cases nationally, especially in the NCR and Mindanao.
Vergeire, however, reiterated that the projections are “not cast in stone” and is highly dependent on different factors.
“(It depends on) factors being used in the projection, such as transmission rate, level of vaccination, and the compliance to minimum public health standards,” she said, noting that “the total number of unvaccinated cases increased last March 2023 by 13 percent, compared to February 2023.”
Nevertheless, Vergeire stressed that the rise in cases should not be a cause for alarm as case count should not be used as sole basis in assessing the COVID-19 trend.
“Our total hospital admissions remain to be at less than 20 percent or at low risk (classification),” said Vergeire.
Previously, the DOH said there is no need to worry over the “insignificant” increase in COVID-19 cases being recorded in recent weeks.
This, it said, is as long as the country’s hospitalization rates remain at manageable levels.
COVID DEATHS
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) yesterday said the number of deaths due to COVID-19 decreased substantially in January to November 2022 versus the previous year’s level.
PSA data showed registered deaths due to COVID-19 accounted for 16,080 or 2.9 percent of the total registered deaths during the 11-month period, or a decline of 85.6 percent from the 111,599 deaths due that were registered during the same period in 2021.
By classification, COVID-19 with virus identified was the 11th leading cause of death in the country, with 11,377 cases or two percent of the total deaths.
It was ranked third during the same period in 2021, with 78,801 deaths or 9.6 percent of the total deaths.
Meanwhile, registered deaths due to COVID-19 with virus not identified accounted for 4,703 or 0.8 percent of the total deaths, down from eighth in 2021 to 22nd as the leading cause of death in the country in 2022.
“Figures in this release, specifically for deaths due to COVID-19, may differ from the one released by the Department of Health (DOH) because the figures in this release were obtained from the certificates of death particularly the descriptions written on the medical certificate portion therein as reviewed by the health officer of the local government unit concerned. On the other hand, the figures released by the DOH were obtained through a surveillance system,” the PSA said.
The PSA added that the figures for deaths due to COVID-19 refer to both confirmed and probable cases as of registration.
COVID-19-virus identified is used when COVID-19 is confirmed by a laboratory test, while COVID-19-virus not identified is used for suspected or probable cases as well as clinically-epidemiologically diagnosed COVID-19 cases where testing was not completed or was inconclusive.
Among the 17 regions, the PSA reported that NCR registered the highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 with 3,916 or 24.4 percent of the total COVID-19 deaths from January to November 2022.
Calabarzon ranked second with 2,667 deaths (16.6 percent), Central Luzon came in third with 2,221 deaths (13.8 percent), while Western Visayas was fourth with 1,112 deaths (6.9 percent).
On the other hand, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao reported the least number of registered COVID-19 deaths with only 40 cases (0.2 percent).
In Metro Manila, Quezon City reported the highest number of deaths due to COVID-19, with 766 deaths or 19.6 percent of the total COVID-19 deaths in the region from January to November 2022. This was followed by the cities of Manila and Pasig with 569 (14.5 percent) and 432 (11 percent) COVID-19 deaths, respectively. — With Angela Celis
