Several cities have been identified by the OCTA Research Group as “areas of concern” due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
These include Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Puerto Princesa, and Zamboanga City, according to Guido David, a fellow of the group conducting the study on COVID-19-related data.
“Dapat matutukan yan ng local government. Based on history, nakikita natin ang smaller LGUs (local government unit) na ito, mas mabilis nilang nako-control ang situation, so hindi pa naman necessarily alarming ito,” said David.
Daily virus cases in Metro Manila dropped to an average of 2,100 from the previous 5,500 COVID-19 cases.
It is possible that the number of cases recorded in Metro Manila will decrease in the coming weeks.
According to David, quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces, which have recently experienced a surge, should be gradually eased.
“Ayaw nating mabigla at magkaroon ng reversal of trend na tumaas ulit,” he said.
Areas of concern identified due to increase in COVID-19 cases
According to the group, there was also a slight increase in COVID-19 cases in Laguna.
Because of this, it is important to continue vaccination, especially in areas with a high number of cases.
“Hindi naman surge pero like in Laguna, medyo unstable ang trend. Hindi siya bumababa at the same rate, mabagal ang decrease niya,” said David.
“The most major metropolitan areas like NCR (National Capital Region), Cebu, maybe Davao, sila ang nahihirapan to cope with upsurge kasi mas maraming tao. That’s why we echo ang sinabi ng vaccine czar natin to prioritize major metropolitan areas, including NCR,” he added.
Doses of the COVID-19 vaccine received from AstraZeneca on Saturday will be distributed to local governments this week as well as upcoming Pfizer vaccines.
As temperature-sensitive vaccines, such as Sputnik V and Pfizer, are also starting to roll out, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez suggested to LGUs to find out the number of individuals to be vaccinated per day.
“Ang magandang nakita namin is the inoculation should be well-planned and timed. Once it’s been removed from the warehouse, kailangan na talagang magamit ‘yon,” said Galvez.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.