Palace on beating UP’s COVID-19 forecast: Congratulations, Philippines

Malacañang on Tuesday congratulated the public after the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines did not reach 40,000 by the end of June as projected by experts.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the country would not hit 40,000 cases even if the government has yet to validate some 1,000 test results.

As of Monday, the Philippines had 36,438 COVID-19 cases, with 1,255 deaths and 9,956 recoveries.

“Panalo na tayo. We beat the UP prediction po. We beat it, so congratulations Philippines. Let’s do it again in July. We are winning,” he said in a televised briefing, citing the declining mortality, case doubling and positivity rates.

Roque even raised his fist in the air to show his happiness over the development.

However, UP mathematics professor Guido David said on Tuesday that the government’s latest figure was within the study’s margin of error of plus or minus 10 percentage points.

Roque on Monday urged the public to observe precautionary measures so that the country’s COVID-19 cases will not reach more than 60,000 by July 31 as projected by the experts.

He called on the people to wear face masks, wash their hands, and observe physical distancing. — RSJ, GMA News