There were signs Sunday that COVID-19 infections were on the rise again as the daily number of new cases rose to 433 and the reproduction rate—which measures how many people can be infected by one case—rose to 0.72 on Dec. 22, up from 0.42 on Dec. 15 in Metro Manila.
Despite the uptick in cases on Sunday, infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said it was possible that the country would be placed under the lowest COVID-19 alert level if the average daily infections remained below 500 until the end of the year.
“I think that if the cases are still low and we’re still averaging below 500 until the end of December, then we might have enough reasons or basis to ease to Alert Level 1,” Solante told radio dzBB, speaking in Filipino.
The whole country is under an Alert Level 2 for the remainder of the year.
The independent OCTA Research Group, said the holiday uptick could explain the increasing reproduction number and positivity rate.
OCTA fellow Guido David added that on Dec. 25, the City of Manila had the highest number of new COVID-19 infections nationwide with 58, followed by Quezon City with 25, and Las Piñas with 20.
“The reproduction number in the NCR (National Capital Region) based on testing has also increased to 0.79 (this is a more accurate measure of the reproduction number because it is not affected by backlog),” David added.
David advised the public to remain vigilant and observe COVID-19 safety protocols as they celebrate the rest of the holiday season.
“Whatever the case may be, we must continue to be vigilant and practice minimum public health standards as we enjoy the rest of the holidays. People with colds symptoms should be mindful of mingling with other people,” he said.
The Philippines logged 433 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total case count to 2,838,640.
The positivity rate went up to 2 percent, based on test results of samples from 21,116 people on Dec. 24. This is still within the World Health Organization’s requirement target of less than 5 percent positivity rate.
There were 13 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 51,200.
The Department of Health (DOH) also reported 283 new recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,777,918.
There were 9,522 active cases, with 458 of which were asymptomatic; 3,574 of which were mild; 3,339 of which were moderate; 1,777 of which were severe; and 374 of which were critical.
Nationwide, 17 percent of ICU beds; 20 percent of isolation beds; 10 percent of ward beds; and 10 percent of ventilators, were in use.
In Metro Manila, 17 percent of ICU beds; 18 percent of isolation beds; 15 percent of ward beds; and 11 percent of ventilators, were in use.