THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday warned of a surge in COVID-19 cases before Christmas as people have been going out of their houses to visit malls and parks since the alert in Metro Manila was lowered to Level 2 on November 5.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said non-adherence to minimum public health standards coupled with the increase in mobility of people can surely increase virus transmission.
“Once mobility increases and compliance with health protocols go down, cases may surge by December 15,” she said. “I am certain we wouldn’t want cases to climb, especially come the Christmas season.”
Over the weekend, the first under Alert Level 2, families flocked to malls and other public spaces in Metro Manila. The weekend marked the first time that minors were allowed to go out since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Pictures posted on social media showed large crowds and non-observance of social distancing and other health protocols. There were also reports of crowding in some malls and of unmasked children running around.
Metro Manila will remain under Alert Level 2 until November 21.
Vergeire said a surge would not be impossible if people will act as if COVID-19 is gone.
“We know everyone is excited to go out and enjoy it with their families (but) we should remain responsible enough and think that the virus is still here,” Vergeire said.
Latest DOH data show all regions saw negative two-week growth rates from October 25 to November 7.
“The national average daily cases further decreased by 46 percent in the recent weeks,” the DOH said.
The country remained under “low risk” classification, as with 15 other regions.
However, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Cagayan Valley remained at “moderate risk” classification as their average daily attack rates (ADARs) stood at 15.99 for CAR and 8.73 for Cagayan Valley.
The OCTA Research group said the situation in the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) has greatly improved from last year.
“Comparison of NCR numbers on Nov. 7, 2021 versus one year ago… Nearly all indicators are better now,” OCTA fellow Guido David said in a social media post.
Records show the average new cases per day improved to 405 this year compared to 501 last year. The reproduction rate also went down in a year’s time to 0.37 in 2021 from 0.78 in 2020. The ADAR improved to 2.86 this year, compared to 3.63 last year. The positivity rate also improved to 4 percent this year, compared to 6 percent last year.
