HomeNewsBishop reminds Filipinos to beware of COVID-19 infections during holidays

Bishop reminds Filipinos to beware of COVID-19 infections during holidays

The Health department on Tuesday warned that COVID-19 infections could reach as high as 2,294 per day by the end of December

An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines reminded the public to continue to beware of COVID-19 infections especially during the Christmas season.

“Let’s just be prudent in whatever we do with extra care … because if we have extra care, we will have a safety net against COVID-19,” said Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio, vice chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Health Care.

The prelate urged the public to continue observing minimum health standards during gatherings and celebrations.



Bishop Florencio said that aside from celebrating, everyone should thank the Lord and ask for his help “because if he will not help us, we will only be faced by the threats of COVID.”

The Archdiocese of Manila has earlier reminded the faithful to observe minimum public health standards against COVID-19 during church services and celebrations.

The Health department on Tuesday warned that COVID-19 infections could reach as high as 2,294 per day by the end of December.

Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said if the public’s current minimum public health standards (MPHS) compliance remains the same, the average daily cases would only be about 429 by December.

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“If our MPHS compliance further decreases, our daily cases will probably range from 1,140 to as high as 2,294 by the end of December and our active cases may also reach a total of 18,000 as of December and these are national numbers,” she added.

Increased public interaction, decreased social distancing and optional wearing of masks during the holidays contribute to reduced MPHS compliance.

The rise in cases would not necessarily translate to significant increase in the hospital utilization rate if no new variant of concern enters the country.

“The highest number that we will see is actually around 800 admissions and these are [National Capital Region] data,” De Guzman said.

As of November 27, about 73,592,319 individuals have been fully vaccinated and 20,718,469 have received their booster shots.

The country’s daily average cases from November 21 to 27 was 1,147 — 0.3 percent higher than previous week’s 1,147.

About 21.6 percent or 526 out of the 2,430 intensive care unit (ICU) beds are in use, while 25.2 percent or 5,169 of 20,508 non-ICU beds are utilized as of Nov. 28. – with a Philippine News Agency report

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