THE independent OCTA Research Team yesterday said coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) recorded one-week growth rate of eight percent even while the capital region was under the general community quarantine with heightened restriction classification.
In its latest COVID-19 update, the group noted this is “the first time the region had an increase since the peak of the surge” in April, but added that “the increase was slight.”
The report shows that the seven-day average new cases in NCR for the period of May 26 to June 1 is now at 1,135. This is higher than the 1,049 seven-day average new cases recorded from May 19 to 25.
The OCTA also noted how the reproduction number in the NCR over the past week climbed to 0.68 from the 0.57 R naught tallied for the previous week.
Eight of the 17 local government units in Metro Manila also saw their new cases increase during the period of May 26 to June 1.
They include Quezon City (17%), Pasig City (16%), Caloocan City (10%), Taguig City (19%), Makati City (7%), Parañaque City (16%), Valenzuela City (13%), and Muntinlupa City (25%).
The OCTA said that with cases in the NCR again on an upward trend, the Philippine numbers also began to climb.
It said that the seven-day average nationwide increased by 37 percent or up to 6,699. This is higher compared to the previous week’s average of 4,898, which was the lowest daily average since the peak of the surge in April.
“The cause for this reversal in the downward trend is that the NCR did not see a decrease in cases the past week, that would counter the upward trends seen in many provinces and LGUs outside the NCR,” said OCTA.
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) already noted how the NCR and its neighboring provinces are already starting to see a slower pace in the downtrend of cases.
“It is still going down but not as fast as before. It started around the middle of May,” said DOH – Epidemiology Bureau (EB) Director Dr Alethea de Guzman last week.
The Department of Tourism (DOT), through its marketing and promotions arm Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, yesterday announced it will resume subsidizing the 50 percent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for qualified domestic tourists from June 1 to 15.
This was after the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) issued Resolution 118-A, allowing ages below 18 and above 65 years old to travel for leisure between the NCR Plus bubble and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) areas provided they are tested negative for COVID-19 using RT-PCR test.
The NCR Plus is composed of Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
The TPB has a standing agreement with the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and their accredited COVID-19 laboratories for the subsidized RT-PCR testing program.
The subsidy program costs P35.17 million for the whole year.
As for the plan to exempt fully vaccinated travelers from RT-PCR testing, the DOT said it is still being discussed as there is no way to authenticate vaccination cards yet.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar urged travelers to first check travel rules for incoming visitors of their destination local government units (LGUs) to avoid being inconvenienced, as he reminded the public that some local governments have imposed their own guidelines for visitors or tourists.
“My advice to the people is to first know the guidelines of the LGUs which you intend to visit because some are still strict and are adopting their own regulations,” Eleazar said.
“I know that you are excited to go on vacation or go on leisure because you’re isolated inside your homes for a long time. But remember, the threat of COVID-19 is still there. We should be doubly careful while we are out of our residence,” he also said.
Meanwhile, local carriers, Philippines Airlines and Cebu Pacific cancelled their scheduled flights to and from Dubai from June 1 to 15 after the government extended the travel ban on incoming travelers from the United Arab Emirates.
In an advisory, Cebu Pacific said affected passengers may rebook their flights, claim a refund or avail of their travel fund up to 30 days from their scheduled date of departure through the airlines’ booking portal.
CEB said passengers are allowed to have unlimited rebooking with no additional cost as fare difference is waived if travel is within 90 days from the original flight date. A minimal fare difference may apply after said period.
However, CEB said the refund will take up to 7 months from the date of request due to the high volume of requests.
CEB will continue to operate all other domestic and international flights as scheduled.
On the other hand, PAL said the Manila-Dubai-Manila flights which operate once a week every Wednesday will resume on June 16.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade yesterday warned drivers and operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) their franchises could be suspended or even revoked if they tolerate violations of health and safety protocols COVID-19
“Failure by the driver and the operator to enforce these health and safety protocols could possibly lead to the suspension or revocation of their franchise, as these can be considered breaches of their franchise conditions. If there’s no social distancing, that’s overloading,” Tugade said.
Tugade said they have been receiving reports that some drivers and operators have been lax in enforcing the protocols in their respective PUVs.
Tugade has directed law enforcement and regulatory agencies attached to the Department of Transportation such as the Land Transportation Office, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT) to intensify their operations against PUV operators and drivers who will fail to enforce health protocols, and go after operators of colorum vehicles who are illegally transporting people to and from Metro Manila.
In Quezon City, Mayor Joy Belmonte has mandated organizers of gatherings for community service or humanitarian purposes to inform city hall of their events at least five days before the undertaking.
The order was issued in light of the super-spreader events in Barangay Matandang Balara and Barangay Holy Spirit in the past weeks that resulted attendees testing positive of the virus.
“We need to impose stricter measures to ensure that there won’t be a repeat of such incidents,” Belmonte said.
The events include medical missions, mass weddings, distribution of food and cash assistance, among others.
In Manila, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno yesterday said the government should stop requiring Filipinos to wear face shields outside of their residences.
“The wearing of face shields should no longer be made a requirement for the general population but it should still be used in hospitals so that it would lessen the financial burden of the public,” Moreno said in Filipino during the issuance of the Safety Seal certification of Robinsons Place Manila. The safety seal confirms that the establishment is fully compliant with the government’s standards and health regulation to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
He said more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic, the public know what safety measures to take, adding that it seems the Philippines is the only country in the world today to still require the wearing of face shields for those going outside of their home.
“In the meantime, continue using it. I do believe that we are going to achieve that numbers of what scientists called the herd immunity within the year,” he said.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said safety seal initiative of the national government would boost workers’ confidence in going to their respective workplaces and help revive the economy.
In a statement, Labor Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresita Cucueco said workers can be more confident in going to their workplaces once their offices and factories have been certified as meeting public health standards.
Aside from boosting worker confidence, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said having such certification can ultimately help achieve the national goal of safely reopening the economy.
“With the safety seal certification program in place, we are assuring the public, especially our workers, that they are safe and protected outside their homes, even if we allow our economy to fully reopen,” the labor chief said.
“While the application is voluntary, I highly encourage our private business owners to seek for the safety certification to help increase public confidence,” Bello added.
The safety seal certification program assures that businesses are practicing the minimum health protocols, such as social distancing and the use of a contact-tracing application, among others. — With Edison Gonzales, Victor Reyes, Myla Iglesias, Noel Talacay and Ashzel Hachero
