Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) — The Department of Health said it is observing the increase in the country’s COVID-19 cases in the past four days.
“We have seen for the past 4 days, nakita natin na tumataas yung kaso natin [we have seen that cases are increasing] compared to the 7-day moving average na mayroon tayo [that we have] during the holiday period,” Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing Tuesday.
She added that department has observed a 1.1 reproduction rate in the whole country. This is around the same as the 1.17 reported by the OCTA Research Team for Metro Manila, meaning more people are getting infected.
However, Vergeire said these have to be interpreted cautiously since laboratory operations are only starting to normalize after the holidays, when their output declined by as much as 30%, and this might have an effect on the reported number of cases. This trend has to still be studied by another week to have a more accurate conclusion, she added.
Recent events, like the Feast of the Black Nazarene which drew hundreds of thousands of devotees, may show its effects in the following weeks, Vergeire said.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said what the public can only do now is to observe oneself for symptoms, isolate, and get tested. He also expressed confidence the country’s healthcare system won’t be overwhelmed.
“Ang mabuting balita na lang po ay mayroon naman tayong sapat na kakayanan para gamutin kayo. Mukhang hindi po mao-overwhelm kumbaga ang ating health system,” he said.
[Translation: The good news is we have enough capacity to treat you. Our health system may not be overwhelmed.]
Latest data show 59% ICU beds are available, 63% for isolation beds, and 74% for ward beds.
For the first time in over three weeks, single-day infections breached 2,000 on Monday. Based on the latest figures, the country reported 1,524 new COVID-19 cases, bringing total to 491,258.
