NCR COVID-19 CASES NOW IN DOWNWARD TREND, SAYS HEALTH CHIEF

The Department of Health (DOH) said it sees a decline in the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the National Capital Region (NCR), encouraging local leaders to intensify contact tracing, isolation and quarantine of those detected carrying the virus.

In a meeting with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the DOH observed a drop in cases in the NCR based on the negative two-week growth rate and declining average daily attack rate per 100,000 population as well as healthcare and ICU utilization rates.

“Upang magtuloy-tuloy ang pagbaba ng kasong nakikita, hinihikayat namin ang mga LGU na gawin nang madalian ang pagdadala sa mga quarantine at isolation facilities ng mga kaso at close contacts na ating nahahanap sa mga komunidad, sa mga workplaces, at iba pa pong mga lugar,” Duque said. “At kasabay po nito, hinihikayat namin ang mga local vaccination operation centers na palawigin pa ang pagbabakuna upang maabot natin ang 70 percent full vaccination ng atin pong targeted population of about 77 million Filipinos, either by the end of this year or early next year.” Duque told the President that the declining numbers could be attributed to strong adherence to the strict safety protocols and LGU’s active contact tracing, expedited vaccination program, and improved caseto-contact ratio in the NCR.

“Talagang pinaiigting nila ‘yung kanilang contact tracing kaya mas marami hong naiisolate, naka-quarantine, and therefore, hindi na nakakapagkalat ng COVID-19,” Duque explained. Hospitalizations, on the other hand, have remained at a high-risk level in NCR. He also noted an increase in the COVD19 cases in other regions of the country. The health chief encouraged regions with high COVID-19 cases to intensify their active case-finding, contact tracing initiatives and to immediately bring infected individuals to quarantine and isolation facilities to halt the spread of the coronavirus. He also asked the regional offices to follow the prescribed data reporting template for accurate and quick data reporting so that the government could make better responses to areas needing prompt attention. Duque reported that so far, the country administered a total 46,380,040 vaccine doses, with around 24 million people receiving the first dose. Thirty percent of the country’s eligible population is now fully vaccinated, after it administered 21 million doses as second jab. The country has posted a total of 2,604,040 coronavirus infections after the Department of Health recorded 10,748 new cases as of October 4.

The Philippines has 106,160 active cases with 38,828 deaths and 2,459,052 recoveries, the DOH said. PND