All regions in the Philippines can be considered at “minimal risk” for COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.
According to the DOH, all island groups in the country also show a plateau of COVID-19 cases.
But the agency is monitoring the Bicol region and Soccsksargen after seeing a positive growth rate last week. This means that their cases are slightly higher compared to the previous week.
According to the DOH’s projection, based on 11,373 active cases as of December 11, the Philippines could play between 1,766 and 9,338 active cases by the end of January 2022.
In the National Capital Region, the agency projected 148 to 325 active cases at the end of January.
How low or high the number of active cases during the said period still depends on the public’s adherence to the minimum health protocols.
Dr. Alethea de Guzman, the DOH Epidemiology Bureau director, criticized that health protocols are not strictly followed.
“Kung dati, very conscious tayo, napansin ko sa mga restaurant, dati magtatanggal lang tayo ng mask kapag kakain tapos ilalagay na natin ulit pagkatapos natin kumain,” said De Guzman.
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All regions in Philippines ‘minimal risk’ in COVID-19: DOH
“Ngayon once you start eating tapos kahit tapos nang kumain, hindi na naibabalik hanggang sa lumabas tayo ng restaurant,” she added.
DOH projections have not yet included the possible impact of the more contagious omicron variant, which has not yet been detected in the country.
For the DOH, the case should be kept low, especially as it appears from initial data that omicron is possibly ten times more contagious than the original variant seen in Wuhan, China.
As of Tuesday, the Philippines recorded 235 new COVID-19 cases for a total of 2,836,868 confirmed cases, of which 10,526 are active cases.
Meanwhile, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the next president would not have to worry about COVID-19 vaccines. The government secured enough supplies even after President Rodrigo Duterte ended his term on June 30, 2022.
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