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DOH: Increase in NCR COVID-19 cases can't be attributed to optional face mask policy


The slight increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region cannot be attributed to the voluntary wearing of face masks outdoors, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

“[H]indi natin pwedeng i-attribute na itong pagtaas ng mga kasong ito dito sa pagtatanggal ng mask outdoors (We can't attribute the increase in cases to the optional use of face mask outdoors),” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.

She said it would take one to two weeks for the department to analyze the effect of voluntary use of face masks outdoors.

“What we can say, tumaas ang mobility mula nag-umpisa ang face-to-face classes. So tinitignan natin 'yung relasyon nito dito sa pagtaas kasi hindi naman natin nakikita 'yung ganitong pagtaas sa ibang rehiyon,” she added.

(What we can say is mobility increased when face-to-face classes started. So we are looking at the relationship between this and the increase because we are not seeing this in other regions.)

The Health official made the remark when asked about the OCTA report showing that the region’s positivity rate has increased.

Vergeire said NCR's positivity rate stood at 16.4.

“Kapag tinignan natin, comparing this to the previous two weeks, makikita natin na tumaas talaga (If we look at it, comparing this to the previous two weeks, we can see that there really is an increase),” she said.

“Makikita rin natin ngayon na among the different regions in the country, ang NCR ay pumasok na ulit sa moderate risk case classification. Bagama’t ang kanilang hospital utilization is just at less than 40%,” she added.

(We can see that among the different regions in the country, NCR has again entered the moderate risk case classification even though its hospitalization is just at less than 40%.)

According to Vergeire, 11 out of the 17 cities and municipalities in NCR are at moderate risk case classification.

She said six also recorded an increase in hospital admissions.

“So nevertheless, kapag tinignan natin sa kabuuan, ang (overall) NCR is at moderate risk case classification but still at low risk for their utilization of their hospitals,” she said.—AOL, GMA News

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