DOH: Downtrend now limited to Visayas
THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said it has observed increases in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its neighboring areas.
In its latest COVID-19 situation report, the health department also said that “Plus areas (Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal) are showing marginal case increase in recent days.”
“The rest of Luzon and Mindanao are now showing signs of plateauing,” it also said, adding: “The Visayas maintains a slow downward trend.”
On Monday, the independent OCTA Research said the positivity rates in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pangasinan, and Rizal have increased between September 10 and 17.
In a press conference yesterday, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, who is the DOH officer-in-charge, said the increase in cases can be attributed to an upsurge in mobility in the country, especially following the last month’s resumption of face-to-face classes in public and private schools nationwide.
“We have really observed that about the middle of August, the mobility pattern in the NCR and nearby regions increased. This implies that people are really going out more because we feel we are protected because of the vaccines, and also because other sectors are opening up, like education,” said Vergeire.
“That (increase in cases) is expected because of mobility patterns… The more interaction there are, the higher the possibility of transmission will be. This is where we attribute this increase,” she said.
On the other hand, the DOH said the rise in cases cannot be attributed to the recent lifting of the mandatory face mask policy, which she noted has only been a week since it was implemented nationwide.
“We still cannot directly correlate this (increase in cases) to the new masking rules. It has just been seven days since the issuance of Executive Order,” she said.
“Until now, we cannot establish a direct link between the masking policy and increasing cases,” added Vergeire.
It was last September 12 when Malacañang announced the signing of Executive Order No. 3, which allowed the voluntary wearing of face masks in open spaces and non-crowded outdoor areas.
Meanwhile, more than 700 additional Omicron subvariant cases were reported by the DOH also yesterday.
Based on the latest genome sequencing results, there were 688 additional BA.5 cases, and 16 additional BA.4 cases detected in the country.
The additional BA.5 cases were detected in all regions and in 11 returning overseas Filipinos.
On the other hand, 12 additional BA.4 cases were found in Soccsksargen, two in Metro Manila, and one each in Bicol Region and Central Visayas.
The additional Omicron subvariant cases were detected from the 912 swab samples that underwent genome sequencing from September 16 to 19.
Amid the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and following the World Health Organization (WHO) statement that it is now seeing the end of the global pandemic, Vergeire said the Philippines is now looking at the possibility of easing border restrictions.
Vergeire said they have been given directives by President Marcos Jr. to look into the possibility of further lifting restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Based on the directives of the President, we are looking at opening more sectors and ease border restrictions. These will be discussed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF),” said Vergeire.
“We shall discuss border restrictions in the country, whether it be foreign or local. We will see, based on safety protocols, if we can ease some of the restrictions,” she added.
As it is, the health official said foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated with boosters are already allowed entry sans quarantine requirements.
On the other hand, those who are fully vaccinated but without boosters are merely required to present negative RT-PCR test results so that they will not be required to undergo quarantine.
Vergeire, however, noted that it would be difficult to remove the COVID-19 vaccination requirement due to the presence of Executive Order No. 168.
“If a foreign national does not have any vaccination, that is the time that we do not allow entry based on EO 168. We need to be able to rescind or amend EO 168 for us to relax this restriction,” she said.
Vergeire said that the IATF is set to discuss the matter “in the coming weeks.”
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