Vax rates up, COVID cases still dropping
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday said government does not expect a surge in COVID-19 cases after the Christmas holidays, similar to the spike in infections that happened in August last year and in April and September this year.
Duque said the public is now protected against COVID-19 due to the vaccines.
“If ever, it might just be minimal. Many have been vaccinated already… We have a high vaccination rate now,” he said.
Data from the DOH shows that 38.6 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated as of December 6. About 53.4 million individuals are considered as partially vaccinated, while more than 560,000 have received booster shots.
The country recorded 26,303 new cases last September 11, the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases recorded in the country.
Yesterday, the Department of Health reported just 370 new cases, or less than 400 for two days straight. Tuesday’s number was only 356 cases.
Duque’s projection was further boosted by a report of the independent OCTA Research group which sees a “good holiday season,” primarily due to the lower daily average cases in the National Capital Region (NCR), which has been at 105 new COVID cases a day from December 1 to 7.
Previously, OCTA said it expects cases in Metro Manila to average less than 100 a day this holiday season.
In a social media post yesterday, OCTA fellow Guido David said: “The NCR is heading towards a good holiday season with just 105 new COVID-19 cases per day.”
David said Metro Manila is already at the “very low risk” classification for COVID as its reproduction rate is now at 0.34 and has a positivity rate of 1 percent, and an average daily attack rate of 0.74 per 100,000 population.
For the period of November 26 to December 2, the NCR had an average of 138 cases a day. During the same period, the reproduction rate was at 0.36, positivity rate at 1.2 percent, and average daily attack rate of 0.97 per 100,000 population.
The OCTA said 11 of the 17 local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila are also at “very low risk” classification. These are Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan, Pateros, Valenzuela, Marikina, Manila, Parañaque, Pasay, Las Piñas, and Mandaluyong.
The remaining six NCR LGUs — Muntinlupa, Makati, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, and San Juan — are classified as “low risk.”
Duque said a surge after the holidays would further be prevented if people will continue to adhere to minimum public health standards (MPHS) while celebrating the Christmas season, despite increased mobility allowed under Alert Level 2.
“As long as we observe the MPHS, we would hopefully see not that high of a surge (after the holidays), if ever there will be any,” said Duque.
The DOH’s latest case bulletin reported 370 new COVID-19 cases in the country and a positivity rate of 1.6 percent out of the 28,942 tests conducted last December 6.
The country’s total COVID cases is now 2,835,593.
Among confirmed cases, the DOH said there were 171 new deaths, for a total of 49,761 fatalities. The case fatality rate stood at 1.75,
The DOH also reported 859 more COVID-19 patients who have recovered, bringing the total to 2,773,322. This means that 97.8 percent of the COVID-19 patients in the country have been able to recover.
There are still 12,510 active cases, accounting for 0.4 percent of the total infections. Of the active cases, 4,974 are mild, 3,916 are moderate, 2,261 are severe, 883 are asymptomatic, and 476 are critical cases.
The DOH said the country’s case fatality rate (CFR) is below the global average of 2 percent.
This, it said, is in contrast to the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index report, which showed that the Philippines’ CFR is at 9 percent.
“This Philippine CFR was markedly lower than the 9 percent CFR reported in the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index press release,” said the DOH in a statement.
The DOH noted that the Philippine CFR used in the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index was actually the rolling-average CFR in Our World in Data (OWID).
“The 9 percent CFR calculated by the OWID was based on the number of reported deaths per day from November 18 to 27, 2021,” it explained.
“However, of the 2,096 deaths reported for that period, only 16 percent occurred in November, while 80 percent occurred between August to October,” added the DOH.
Based on the Nikkei report, the short-term case fatality rate of the Philippines stands at over 9 percent, which is the second highest in the world.
ZERO CASES
Two hospitals in Makati City have been recording zero COVID cases for several months now, Mayor Abigail Binay said.
She said the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak), a city-run hospital, has not admitted COVID patients since November 24.
“Earlier this month, we had 54 patients with COVID-like symptoms at OsMak. Fortunately, they all tested negative after undergoing RT-PCR tests. Therefore, we have zero COVID cases at OsMak,” Binay said.
Binay also said the Makati Medical Center (MMC) has no COVID admissions for almost 20 months now.
Earlier, MMC medical director Dr. Saturnino Javier issued a statement to the media confirming the hospital’s zero-COVID patient census for the first time in 20 months since March 2020.
Binay attributed the development to the city’s high vaccination rate, availability of rapid antigen tests and RT-PCR tests, surveillance and early isolation or quarantine of suspected COVID-19 patients, and strict implementation of minimum public health standards.
Binay reminded the public not to be complacent, amid the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, of which little is yet known,
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said all its personnel and inmates, or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), are now free of COVID-19.
BJMP spokesman Chief Inspector Xavier Solda made the statement after a PDL recovered from the disease after isolation at the Ligtas COVID Center in Payatas in Quezon City.
“We would like to announce that as of this minute, there is no longer an active COVID-19 case in the BJMP, both PDLs and personnel. We are hoping that this will continue,” Solda said.
Solda said BJMP chief Director Allan Iral reminded BJMP facilities not to be complacent.
“Even with a zero record on COVID19 cases in our jails, we will continue to strictly implement our health protocols to ensure the health and wellness of PDL under our care,” said Solda.
The bureau suspended physical visitation of the inmates in March last year though it allowed e-dalaw or online visits. Recently, the bureau has allowed non-contact physical visitation in low-risk areas.
The bureau said 4,672 inmates were infected by COVID-19, of which 50 died.
On the other hand, there were 3,098 BJMP personnel who contracted the disease.
Seventeen of the infected personnel died. — With Noel Talacay and Victor Reyes
