Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 18) — The Department of Health (DOH) has warned that the daily COVID-19 cases in the country may reach 800 to 1,200 by the end of the month,
“Ang meron po tayo, projections that by the end of June, maari po na aabot tayo to 800-1,200 cases per day kung magtutuloy-tuloy po ang mga kaso po natin sa ngayon,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a public briefing on Saturday.
[Translation: We have projections that by the end of June, we could reach 800-1,200 cases per day if the current number of cases will continue to increase.]
Vergeire cited the presence of the more transmissible Omicron subvariants, the public’s mobility patterns, and waning immunity as the causes of the slow uptick of COVID-19 cases in the country.
The projections, however, are not “cast in stone,” she noted.
“These are just used for us to prepare,” Vergeire explained. “Gusto lang ho natin makapag-prepare ang ating mga ospital, ang ating local government so that we can prevent further transmission at hindi mangyari po ang mga numerong ito.”
[Translation: We just want our hospitals and the local governments to be prepared so that we can prevent further transmission and for these projections to not happen.]
At present, the cases per day in the country average around 350, which Vergeire said increased by 50 to 60 percent from the previous week.
In the National Capital Region, from 102 cases per day in the previous week, it has increased to 170.
