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Friday, March 29, 2024

DOH tracking increase of virus cases in 13 areas

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The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said it is closely monitoring 13 areas that recorded an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases but said they were not alarming.

BOOSTER JABS. A health worker injects a COVID-19 booster vaccine to an immunocompromised person at the Marikina City Mega Vaccination Center in Marikina City on Monday as the country begins administering a fourth dose or second booster shot of the vaccine. Manny Palmero

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the rise in COVID-19 cases is not significant enough to merit concern.

“We are not seeing significant increases as of this time. And more importantly, even though there is a slight increase in cases, hospitals aren’t filling up,” Vergeire said in Filipino.

Vergeire also said that Pateros, Malabon, and Navotas in Metro Manila are being watched for their number of cases and hospital occupancy numbers.

“There is positive growth in Pateros. In other areas like Malabon, the ICU beds are filling up. But there are only three ICU beds so they’re all being used now. In Navotas, there are only 46 COVID ward beds. And even though there’s a slight uptick, the utilization rate is less than 60 percent. So they’re easily filled up because they’re so few,” said Vergeire.

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Vergeire attributed the slight increase in cases to lax compliance with minimum public health standards, gatherings in campaign sorties, and people going on vacation during the Holy Week.

Vergeire also reminded the public to adhere to health protocols to prevent another spike in COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the inoculation of a second COVID-19 booster shot for the immunocompromised population started in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday.

In a message to reporters, the DOH said the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), Tala Hospital, Valenzuela Medical Center, and the city government of Makati were scheduled to begin the rollout of the second booster shot.

The City of Manila is scheduled to start its second booster shot this Tuesday, April 26.

More vaccination sites will start administering second boosters as the days progress, the DOH added.

The National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) said on Saturday that it is expecting around 7,000 to 13,000 immunocompromised individuals to take their second booster doses during the first day of its rollout.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted the emergency use authorization for the second booster shot for senior citizens, the immunocompromised, and frontline health workers.

The DOH said the second booster dose will be given at least four months after the administration of the first booster, with the FDA recognizing waning immunity in the specific populations.

The DOH on Sunday logged 205 new COVID-19 infections, as the country’s active cases tally further declined to 13,660.

According to the DOH’s data posted on its website, the figure brings the country’s COVID-19 tally to 3,684,500.

The DOH said total recoveries rose to 3,610,658, while the country’s death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 60,182.

Meanwhile, the top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region (NCR) with 982, followed by Calabarzon with
405, and Central Luzon with 262.

The DOH said at least 19,592 people were tested, while 306 testing labs submitted data as of April 23.

The DOH said bed occupancy in the country was 16.6 percent, with 5,285 beds occupied, while 26,644 were vacant.

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