The Visayas has outpaced Luzon and Mindanao with the steepest increase in COVID-19 cases, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.
In the last two weeks, Western Visayas recorded a 63 percent growth, Central Visayas logged a 59 percent increase and Eastern Visayas reported a 118 percent spike in COVID-19 infections, the DOH said.
"Visayas now has the steepest increase in cases among the island groups, surpassing numbers in NCR Plus areas," DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Alethea De Guzman said in an online press conference.
De Guzman said cases in the Visayas rose due to minimal observance of basic health protocols such as the proper wearing of face masks, frequent hand washing and physical distancing.
People have also been holding gatherings and celebrations that have turned into super-spreader events in the Visayas, she said.
De Guzman said while the DOH is closely monitoring the rise in cases in Visayas, Health officials cannot set aside the National Capital Region (NCR) and eight other provinces where the COVID-19 situation remains "fragile.”
The Palace on Tuesday denied neglecting the Visayas and Mindanao in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, rejecting the claim by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez that the authorities were “taking their sweet time” in distributing the bulk of coronavirus shots in Metro Manila.
“It is not true that we stalled other areas of the Philippines,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in Filipino.
He said the government has allocated only 38 percent of the vaccine supply to Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces.
The Philippines logged 5,389 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections to 1,327,431 as 16 laboratories were not able to submit their data on time, the DOH said.
The DOH reported 118 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 22,963.
It also reported 6,667 patients who recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 1,246,405.
This left 58,063 active cases, of which 91.8 percent were mild, 3.8 percent were asymptomatic, 1.3 percent were critical, 1.8 percent were severe, and 1.3 percent were moderate.
The DOH also reported that, nationwide, 59 percent of the ICU beds, 47 percent of the isolation beds, 48 percent of the ward beds, and 37 percent of the ventilators, were in use.
In Metro Manila, 46 percent of the ICU beds, 36 percent of the isolation beds, 33 percent of the ward beds, and33 percent of the ventilators, were in use.
Dr. Alethea de Guzman, chief epidemiologist of the DOH, said the country’s case growth rate increased to 15 percent from May 30 to June 12, up from 13 percent from May 16 to 29.
The Philippines averaged 6,609 new infections daily from June 7 to 13, higher than the average of 6,558 cases logged during May 31 to June 6, De Guzman said.
Since the middle of May, when the DOH first began to observe a slower decline of cases, the country has been cases plateauing.
“If there are any super-spreader events, if we are not going to be as effective in our minimum public health standards… that plateau can become another uptick or increase in cases,” De Guzman said during an online forum.
The DOH on Tuesday flagged six areas due to their health care and ICU utilization rates that have breached the high to critical risk category.
The ICU occupancy rate has reached 75.4 percent in La Union, 92.3 percent in Tarlac, 85.7 percent in Rizal, 78.3 percent in Cavite, and 75 percent in Benguet, De Guzman said.
While Agusan del Sur’s ICU utilization rate was in the safe zone, it was still flagged by the DOH due to its high health care utilization rate of 72.6 percent.
De Guzman said high health care utilization rates were the primary reason for the tightening of quarantine restrictions in several areas to a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), which will be in effect until June 30.
She said the DOH has been working with hospitals to increase their capacity for COVID-19 cases, deploying more health workers, and buying more beds and other hospital equipment.
De Guzman said the DOH supports the allocation of more vaccines to areas seeing a spike in infections.
The Philippines has vaccinated over 5 million people as of June 14, still far from the government’s target of inoculating 50 million to 70 million people this year.
Also on Tuesday, a health expert said Cebu has implemented a “double safety measure” by testing returning Filipinos at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport upon arrival to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“We want to clarify that we didn't break IATF guidelines. Rather we innovated… because we needed tighter measures,” Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist and spokesperson of the Department of Health in Central Visayas, said in a TV interview.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday ordered Cebu province to abide by the national government's testing and quarantine protocols for returning Filipinos.
Cebu earlier tested passengers upon arrival at the airport. The IATF requires this screening on the seventh day of travelers' quarantine.
The IATF requires all travelers to undergo 14-day quarantine upon arrival, the first 10 days to be observed at a quarantine facility, with the remainder to be completed under home quarantine.
Cebu was still testing returning Filipinos on the seventh day to ensure they were clear of the disease, Loreche said.