THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said the Philippines will see a higher number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases if the Omicron variant reaches local shores.
In a virtual press briefing, DOH-Epidemiology Bureau head Dr. Alethea de Guzman said there is a possibility the Omicron variant may cause a higher peak in cases compared to other variants of concern (VOCs), cases of which have already been detected in the country.
“As of now, we have yet to detect the variant from those that tested positive either from local or returning overseas Filipinos. Omicron is not yet present locally,” said de Guzman.
“(However), we may actually reach peaks higher than Alpha (UK), Beta (South Africa), and Delta (India) last April and September,” De Guzman added.
She explained that this is due to the higher transmissibility of the said variant as compared to other VOCs.
The DOH statement was seconded by the independent OCTA Research, which warned of a “serious surge” in cases.
“The Omicron variant, if it enters the country’s borders, will likely trigger a serious surge of new cases in the Philippines,” said OCTA fellow Guido David in a social media post.
He cited the experience of South Africa with the Omicron variant in issuing such a warning.
“From November 8 to 14, South Africa had an average of 246 new cases. Since then, cases jumped to an average of 19,400 over a span of four weeks,” said David.
De Guzman noted how initial analysis of the Omicron variant already shows its higher transmissibility than the Delta variant.
“The Delta variant can produce 6 to 8 cases. But with Omicron, those that can be infected may reach 10,” she said, adding: “This is how transmissible this Omicron variant is.”
Despite this, the health department expressed confidence that higher peaks can be avoided in the country.
De Guzman said the people just needs to faithfully adhere to minimum public health standards, such as physical distancing, wearing of face masks, and frequent hand washing.
De Guzman also said it is necessary for everyone eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
YELLOW LIST
The United Kingdom will remain in the Philippines’ “Yellow List” despite the high incidence of COVID-19 cases there, Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire yesterday said, adding the country is closely monitoring developments in the British country.
Vergeire said based on the metrics used by the Philippines in classifying whether a country should be in the green, yellow or red list, infections in the UK and the response undertaken by the British government, are still within the Yellow List.
“Sa kasalukuyan po ang United Kingdom, ang kanilang incidence rate ay mataas ngunit ang kanilang two-week growth rate po at one-week growth rate ay hindi po pumasok doon sa threshold para maging red-listed country (At present, the incidence rate in the United Kingdom is high but their two-week growth rate and one-week growth rate did not fall within the threshold for red-listed countries),” Vergeire said.
She said the DOH is closely monitoring the situation in the UK and is prepared to reclassify the country if the situation worsens and if it falls within the Red List threshold.
Under the guidelines of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, countries or territories classified are classified as “high risk” or included in the Red List if the COVID-19 incidence rate is more than 500 for populations greater than 100,000; the COVID-19 incidence rate is more than 500 for populations less than 100,000; and the testing rate of tests over the past 28 days per 100,000 population.
Countries or territories are classified as “moderate risk” or under the Yellow List based on the following metrics: for populations greater than 100,000, the incidence rate shall be 50 to 500; for populations less than 100,000, the COVID-19 case counts shall be 50 to 500; and the testing rate of tests over the past 28 days per 100,000 population.
GRANULAR LOCKDOWNS
The PNP said 42 areas throughout the country, mostly in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), are under granular lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PNP data as of Monday showed only two areas are under granular lockdown in the National Capital Region, which are both in Manila City.
There are 22 areas in CAR that are under granular lockdown, followed by Mimaropa with nine, Calabarzon with six, Zamboanga Peninsula with two, while Cagayan Valley had one.
The PNP said the 42 areas under lockdown are situated in 32 barangays within 17 cities and towns, affecting 57 households composed of 130 individuals.
These lockdowns are manned by 37 policemen and 72 force multipliers or personnel from barangays, cities and municipalities.
Meanwhile, the PNP also reported that some 204,196 individuals were accosted in NCR for violation of quarantine protocols under Alert Level 2 from November 5 to December 13.
Of the violators, 201,609 were caught violating the minimum public health standards (MPHS) like wearing of face mask and observance of physical distancing while 2,587 were accosted for violation of curfew.
The PNP said 138,140 were merely warned, 55,225 were fined and 10,831 were brought to the police station for filing of charges.
Nationwide, a total of 1,119,630 violators were accosted during the same period – 1,004,789 for MPHS violation, 76,153 for curfew violation, while 38,688 were non-authorized persons outside residence.
Of the total violators nationwide, the PNP said 915,527 (82 percent) were merely warned, 131,765 (12 percent) were fined and 72,338 (six percent) were brought to police stations for filing of charges. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Victor Reyes
