Professor Guido David, a member of the University of the Philippines-OCTA Research team, said Thursday that traveling from province to the province could spread COVID-19.
“Definitely may effect ‘yong (travel from province to province) kasi ‘yong epicenters nasa (National Capital Region) and CALABARZON so ‘pag nagta-travel ‘yong mga tao, nadadala nila ‘yong sakit,” David said in an interview on Balitanghali.
Hee added the strict implementation of health protocols should be maintained to stop the further spread of the respiratory disease.
“So kung mag-o-open ng tourism, I mean open na ang tourism, strict ‘yong implementation for people travelling from province to province para hindi natin ma-spread ‘yong COVID-19 sa mga provinces na wala masyadong cases,” he said.
Select provincial bus operations resumed on September 30.
Meanwhile, the government also allowed the reopening of several tourist destinations in the country, such as Baguio, Tagaytay, and Boracay, to boost the economy amid the pandemic.
The University of the Philippines OCTA Research team earlier said the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines decreased.
According to the team’s report dated October 6 and forwarded to GMA News, the reproduction number has maintained its downward trend.
UP expert: Inter-province travel can spread COVID-19
“The number of cases in the Philippines has been decreasing, and currently at less around 2,500 new cases per day (based on case reports),” the OCTA Research team said.
This number is lower than the almost 4,000 new COVID-19 cases recorded daily during August’s last week.
“The reproduction number in the Philippines is 0.87, in line with the downward trend in test reports,” it added. A reproduction number below 1 means a flattened curve, according to the UP OCTA team.
David, however, said the downtrend is uneven throughout the country, adding it is not irreversible.
“Kung ‘di susundin ang health protocols dahil nakikita nating pababa ‘yong trend, puwedeng mag-reverse, puwede pang dumami ulit ang cases at puwede tayo bumalik sa dati na medyo nasa crisis tayo,” David said.
“Sundin pa rin natin ang health protocols. Wear face shields, face masks. Importante ‘yang mga ‘yan. Importante ang actions ng community,” David added.