Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3)— COVID-19 infections in Mindanao have already outpaced Metro Manila, while areas in Luzon showed a marked increase, the Department of Health said on Thursday.
In a media forum, DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Alethea De Guzman said that while the number of cases was not as high, all Mindanao regions are increasing at a fast rate.
As of June 2, DOH data showed there were 11,391 active cases in Mindanao compared to 10,174 cases in Metro Manila.
“Kaya natin siya binabantayan kasi ‘yung bilis, ‘yung steepness ng line graph ay medyo steep siya. Alam naman natin habang pabilis nang pabilis ang pagdami ng kaso, there’s a risk from a small number of cases magiging napakaraming dami ng kaso,” De Guzman said.
[Translation: We’re monitoring this because the speed, in the line graph it’s a little steep. We all know that cases are rising quickly, there’s a risk that from a small number of cases, cases can increase.]
The presence of variants of concern is just one of the factors that contributed to the increase in infections, she added.
“Medyo dumami ‘yung numero ng variants of concern [The number of variants of concern increased] in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula). We’re seeing these variants of concern as one of the factors contributing to faster increases in our cases,” she added.
Asked if there’s a need to place Mindanao under stricter regulation, De Guzman said they need to be rational when imposing heigthened community restrictions.
“Sa ngayon ang nakikita at ito rin ang nire-recommend ng NEDA na kailangan ang LGUs natin i-implement ‘yung mas granular na lockdown. It’s less costly. Also it enables us to be more targeted sa ating actions,” De Guzman said.
[Translation: For now, we’re seeing, and this is what NEDA recommends, that LGUs need to implement granular lockdowns. It’s less costly. Also it enables us to be more targeted with our actions.]
Last week, the country’s daily cases averaged at 6,691. It’s up from 5,214 from May 20 to 26.
In Metro Manila, the average daily cases from May 27 to June 2 was 1,129 — a slight increase from 1,047 last May 20 to 26.
The DOH said after a significant decline in infections in April, cases nationwide have plateaued in May.
“Para sa atin ang plateau ang higit nating binabantayan kasi there’s a possibility from plateau, pwedeng tumaas ‘yung magiging trend niya,” De Guzman said.
[Translation: For us, we’re more concerned about this because there’s a possibility that from plateau, trends can still increase.]
The department also observed that in the “Plus Areas” in Metro Manila, there’s a consistent decrease in cases “but with slight increase over the past week.”
De Guzman said Cagayan Valley and the rest of Central Luzon have the highest cases and fastest incline in Luzon.
Meanwhile, infections in Western Visayas continue to increase at a fast rate, while Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas logged a gradual increase.
The DOH reiterated its appeal to the public to observe health protocols to curb the spike in COVID-19 cases.
