DOH: COVID-19 cases to decrease to 83 daily by March with good compliance

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines may go down to as low as 83 per day should compliance with minimum public health standards be maintained, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.

At the Palace briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said projections show that cases may also increase to 2,077 if there is a 12% decrease in compliance and go up to as high as 7,748 cases per day with a 19% decrease.

"Ang mga projections natin ay nakabase sa mga katangian ng Omicron variant at sa iba pang factors, tulad ng mobility ng populasyon, vaccination coverage, and of course 'yung pagsunod natin sa minimum public health standards," she said.

(Our projections are based on the qualities of the Omicron variant and other factors such as mobility, vaccination coverage, and compliance with MPHS.)

Meanwhile, Vergeire said cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) may decrease to less than 20 if compliance to MPHS is maintained.

"Kapag naman tayo ay nagkaroon ng pagbawas from current na MPHS, nagkaroon ng 12% less (If there will be a 12% decrease in compliance of MPHS), we'll have about 162 cases by March 15," she said.

"Halimbawa, 19% ang pagbaba ng compliance sa MPHS (If there will be 19% decrease in compliance), we'll have about 1,225 on March 15, that's daily cases," she added.

The Philippines was earlier classified as low risk for COVID-19.

"Kung nais po natin mapanatiling mababa ang mga kaso dito sa ating bansa, inaanyayahan po natin ang bawat Pilipino na mag mask, hugas, iwas airflow, bakuna upang makita natin hanggang sa dulo ang pagbaba ng COVID-19," she said.

(If we want to maintain the low number of cases, we invite our countrymen to wear masks, wash hands, and vaccinate, so cases will continue to decline.)

Vergeire also said the average daily cases this week were recorded at 3,521, lower by 56% compared to last week.

"Batay din po sa ating epidemic curve, bumaba na po ang ating average daily cases sa iba pang rehiyon. Patotoo po ang pagbaba nito dahil sa patuloy nating pagsunod sa minimum health standards," she said.

(Based on our epidemic curve, the average daily cases in other regions have decreased. This decline is due to compliance with MPHS.)

Meanwhile, the majority of the regions are now at low-risk case classification aside from Region VI, Region XI, Region XII, and the Cordillera Administrative Region, which are at moderate risk.

Low risk means the average daily attack rate (ADAR) in an area is less than 1 per 100,000 population; moderate risk means it is between 1 to 7; while high risk means it is more than 7.

The Philippines on Monday logged 2,730 new COVID-19 cases.—AOL, GMA News