The Department of Health on Wednesday said there is no surge of COVID-19 cases in the national capital even as the reproduction rate of the virus went up to 1.33
“We cannot call it a surge yet although we see that the number of cases are starting to increase in certain local government units,” said Dr. Manuel Mape II, epidemiology director at the Health department.
“There is a slight increase in some [cities], but there are days where the number of new cases do not increase,” said Mape.
“Of course, we also have to factor in that there are late reports [of confirmed cases],” he added.
The doctor said the national capital region has already recorded 25 cases of the virus’s Delta variant. Of the 25, sixteen are active cases, eight have recovered, and one died.
Mape called on the public to strictly observe minimum public health standards and get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as the supply is available.
“The most important step now is to observe the health protocols and improve contract tracing to expand to third generation because we are seeing infections on second generation [of close contact],” he said.
Independent OCTA Research on Tuesday called for “circuit-breaking” lockdowns in the capital, saying a surge in COVID-19 infections has begun in Metro Manila.
“Right now, it’s official: we are in a surge here in the National Capital Region,” OCTA fellow Ranjit Rye told a government briefing. “We can’t disregard or not pay attention to this increase.”
He said Metro Manila’s COVID-19 reproduction rate at 1.33 is much higher than the 0.6 last month. The figure refers to the number of persons a COVID-19 positive individual can infect.
Rye said Metro Manila is now reporting nearly a thousand additional cases. He said that should it reach 2,000, hospitals may be overwhelmed.
He said the government should no longer wait for infections in Metro Manila to go up further before restricting movements.
The Health department recorded 4,478 new COVID-19 cases in the country on Wednesday, with 6,149 recoveries and 84 deaths.
President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Monday of stricter virus curbs if the current outbreak worsens.
