Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 28) — The Philippines is recording fewer number of new coronavirus cases daily, but the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday warned that Filipinos should remain on guard against the virus.
Although some clusters of COVID-19 cases and transmissions continue to be reported, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the daily tally is steadily hovering around the 1,000 to 1,200 weekly average compared to the previous range of 3,000 cases.
“Makikita natin bumababa, nakikita natin bumababa tayo 1,000 to 1,200 cases comparing to the previous, pero makikita natin may mga lugar pa rin na may piling pagtaas nitong number of cases,” she said in an online forum.
Based on initial findings, Vergeire said the One Hospital Command Center’s help in monitoring the capacity of healthcare facilities to handle COVID-19 patients, and the Oplan Kalinga, which endorses mild and asymptomatic cases to government quarantine facilities, have contributed to the promising development.
“All of these things taken together, nagkakaroon naman ng epekto na maganda sa response, but we cannot be complacent at this point,” she said. “We still need to be very vigilant, kailangan pa rin ipatupad lahat ng ipinapatupad na minimum health standards.”
[Translation: We can see positive effects, but we cannot be complacent. We need to continue implementing minimum health standards, we must remain vigilant.]
Vergeire said this reflects the healthcare utilization in Metro Manila, allowing the medical workers to cope with the needs of COVID-19 patients.
However, testing czar Vince Dizon said that while critical care capacity numbers in Metro Manila are improving, the figures still do not warrant a shift to a more relaxed modified general community quarantine. President Rodrigo Duterte is set to announce the new quarantine classifications this week.
The DOH confirmed 304,226 COVID-19 cases in the country to date, which includes 252,510 recoveries and 5,344 deaths.
