Uptick in cases ‘worrisome’

Imminent surge feared due to Omicron, may trigger higher alert level

The daily positivity rate in Metro Manila rose to more than 5 percent on Monday, raising concerns about an imminent upsurge in COVID-19 cases beyond a holiday uptick.

As the number of new cases doubled to 889 on Wednesday, up from 421 on Tuesday, the Palace, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), doctors and pandemic researchers said the increase in cases could be due to the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

“We are worried. The IATF is worried, the President is worried. Malacañang is worried and all Filipinos should be, as well. We all have a responsibility,” said acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles.

But amid the rising concern, the Department of Health said the rise in the daily positivity rate was “expected” due to people’s increased mobility during the holiday season.

“That is natural because we’re still in a pandemic. People also gathered together and there has been a little complacency. We have also seen and observed a low observance of the minimum public health protocols,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in Filipino.

Nograles said the government could raise the COVID-19 alert level if the conditions warrant it.

Nograles called on the public to continue observing the strict health protocols, especially physical distancing and reminded local government units to impose granular lockdowns when there are spikes of COVID-19 cases in their localities.

He said many people appear to have already forgotten to observe physical distancing as crowds can be seen in some areas.

“We will make an announcement soon, if not within the day, perhaps tomorrow, for the alert level for Jan. 1 to 15. But I would like to remind the public that while it is for Jan. 1 to 15, we are not barred from increasing the alert level in provinces, highly urbanized cities, as needed without even completing 15 days,” Nograles said.

“If the IATF sees a spike, the alert level can be accelerated immediately if it is what is needed,” he added.

The independent OCTA Research Group, meanwhile, said Wednesday was the first time the positivity rate in Metro Manila has risen above 5 percent since Oct. 24.

“New cases in the country are projected to hit 1,200 by Dec. 29, 2021, with at least 400 in the NCR,” OCTA Research fellow Guido David said on Twitter.

“There is now concern that this is not just a holiday uptick. Please be advised that the situation is changing in the NCR and we must now be very mindful of minimum public health standards,” David said. “It is a serious increase in cases.”

He said it was possible that the increase was already being driven by the Omicron variant.

“This rapid increase in reproduction number could only mean one thing. Let us continue to be extra vigilant and not be complacent in following minimum public health protocols,” he added.

The Philippines logged on 889 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 2,839,790.

The nationwide positivity rate went up from 2.6 percent to 4.5 percent, based on test results of samples from 27,615 people on Dec. 27.

The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were NCR (564 or 65 percent), Region 4-A or Calabarzon (86 or 10 percent) and Region 3 or Central Luzon (53 or 6 percent).

There were 28 new fatalities reported Wednesday, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 51,241.

The DOH also reported 214 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 2,778,131.

There were 10,418 active cases, of which 536 were asymptomatic; 4,384 mild; 3,346 moderate; 1,778 severe; and 374 critical.

Nationwide, 20 percent of ICU beds, 23 percent of isolation beds, 11 percent of ward beds, and 12 percent of ventilators, were in use.

In Metro Manila, 23 percent of ICU beds, 21 percent of isolation beds, 17 percent of ward beds, and 14 percent of ventilators, were in use.

Private hospitals saw a slight increase in COVID-19 cases in their facilities, Private Hospitals Associations of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) president Dr. Jose de Grano said on Wednesday.

De Grano, in an interview with GMA News’ Unang Balita, said that it was evident that most people now are going out despite the threat of the pandemic.

In a separate interview, Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), said the increase is felt mostly in emergency rooms.

“There is really an increase in the percentage of those testing positive for COVID-19 in RT-PCR tests,” she said in Filipino.
Because of this, Limpin said the need to prepare for another surge is becoming a reality.

“Actually, even though the current number is just over 400, we are a little worried. And that’s because we’ve also seen, we’ve also felt it in the hospitals, especially in the emergency rooms, that our COVID-19 cases are really increasing,” Limpin said.

On Wednesday, the DOH said it has found 22 close contacts of the fourth Omicron case from the PR127 flight, including the husband of the case, who tested positive.

“The DOH is currently verifying the test results of all close contacts and have coordinated with the regional epidemiology and surveillance units to verify the health status of these cases,” the DOH said.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, a member of the IATF, said he supported keeping the country under Alert Level 2 in January as a precaution against a possible spike in COVID-19 cases. With Rey E. Requejo