THE sustained drop in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Metro Manila may be an indication that the worst of the current wave due to the Omicron subvariants BA.5 and BA.4 may have now passed, an infectious disease expert said yesterday.
Dr. Rontgene Solante said the decrease in Metro Manila’s COVID-19 positivity rate to 7.8 percent last November 7 from 9.5 percent on October 31 is likewise an indicator that there is now population immunity after those who were previously infected with the virus developed antibodies against the BA.5, while others have been fully vaccinated and received their booster shots.
“Dalawa ang factors ang nakita ko rito. Unang-una, we already passed the worst of the BA5 and BA4. So ibig sabihin, nalampasan na natin iyong tinatawag natin na wave, so pababa na ang mga kaso. And second, dahil bumaba na siya, we also developed some form of population immunity (I see two factors here. First, we already passed the worst of the BA5 and BA4. It means, we’ve passed the wave, so the cases are now going down. And second, because it is going down, we also developed some form of population immunity),” Solante said.
He added that hospitalization rate, including the intensive care unit (ICU) use, has also been improving as lesser people are being confined.
OCTA Research Group fellow Guido David took to Twitter the other day to announce that the positivity rate in Metro Manila has dropped to 7.8 percent. He likewise projected that based on the latest trends, the positivity rate could go down to five percent by the end of November.
Solante said the number of active cases nationwide has also become stable in the past days, with the more populated cities and provinces like Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao also recording less than 1,000 cases.
He said the impact of activities related to the All Saint’s Day and Soul’s Day, which are considered super spreader events, is likely to be reflected in the second to third week of November.
Solante, however, expressed hope that the downtrend would continue especially as the country nears the Christmas season.
“Hopefully, in the next weeks, sana walang new variants of concern or subvariants ng Omicron na makapasok. Kung BA.5 lang ang pag-uusapan natin, hopefully, tuloy-tuloy nang maging mababa ang kaso natin (Hopefully, in the next weeks, no new variants of concern or subvariants of Omicron will enter the country. If we only talk about BA.5, hopefully, our cases will continue to decrease),” he said.
He reiterated that despite recent developments, the people should continue to follow heath protocols and get their booster shots to increase their protection against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) yesterday urged those planning to travel to the Philippines for the holiday season to secure their eArrival cards 72 hours prior to their flights.
In a televised public briefing, BOQ Deputy Director Dr. Roberto Salvador said: “Our reminder is for all arriving passengers, especially this holiday season, to fill up their eArrival cards 72 hours before departing your country of origin.”
“All travelers going to the Philippines are required to register their eArrival cards before flying to the Philippines,” he added.
The BOQ has previously announced that eArrival cards can be processed upon arrival in the country.
“Those who encounter problems getting their eArrival cards, we have delegated staff and crew that will assist them when they arrive in the country,” said the BOQ official.
Salvador said they are issuing the call as they expect the volume of travelers to surge as the holiday season draws closer.
“Currently, we have 18,000 arrivals daily. And we expect it to increase in the coming days so we might have congestion in the assistance desk if many will arrive without eArrival cards,” said Salvador.
The eArrival Card is a mandatory requirement for all arriving passengers in the Philippines and will be presented to the BOQ upon arrival in the airport.
The eArrival Card can be secured by logging to www.onehealthpass.gov.ph and is free of charge — With Gerard Naval
