DOH: PH may see over 600 daily COVID-19 cases by mid-May if MPHS compliance declines

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said the daily COVID-19 cases in the country may reach up to 600 by mid-May if the minimum public health standards will not be complied with.

Based on the latest projections as of April 11, the daily cases may increase to 289 up to 611 nationwide by May 15, according to DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Vergeire said these projections were based on the factors including the transmission rate, level of vaccination, and compliance to minimum public health standards.

She said at least 30 to 122 daily cases are also seen in the National Capital Region (NCR) by May 15.

“But as we always say, these are projections, these are not cast in stone. Ginagamit lamang po natin ang projections na ito to better guide our planning and our response pero hindi naman sinasabi na mangyayari at mangyayari. Kung ano man ang lumabas sa datos natin at least we are guided by these projections,” Vergeire said at a media forum.

(We are only using these projections to better guide our planning and our response, but we are not saying that it will happen. Whatever comes out of our data, at least we are guided by these projections.)

Vergeire said the intensive care units (ICU) and severe and critical admissions have been on a “plateau” since early February, while the utilization rates have remained at “low risk.”

“As of April 9, 2023, sumatutal, 378 ang ating severe and critical cases na bumubuo sa 10.22% ng ating total admissions remaining to be less than 20% of our total COVID-19 admissions since January of 2022,” she said.

(As of April 9, 2023, there were 378 of our severe and critical cases which make up 10.22% of our total admissions remaining to be less than 20% of our total COVID-19 admissions since January of 2022.)

She said deaths have also been on a “downward” trend, with only “one case of death due to COVID-19” recorded in March 2023.

COVID-19 vaccination updates

Meanwhile, Vergeire said the total number of unvaccinated cases increased last March 2023 by 13% compared to February 2023.

The DOH official said 11% unvaccinated admissions resulted in deaths.

She said over 78.4 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, while 7.2 million senior citizens are already inoculated, as of March 16, 2023.

Over 10.2 million adolescents are fully-vaccinated, while more than 1.2 million are already boosted, and more than 5.6 million children are fully vaccinated, Vergeire said.

More than 23.8 million individuals have received their first booster dose, while almost 4.4 million have received their second booster shots, she added.

“Bilang nakakakita po tayo ng kaunting pagtaas ng mga kaso doon sa mga hindi bakunado, patuloy po natin pinapaalalahanan ang ating mga kababayan na magpabakuna na ng kanilang primary doses gayun din ang first and second booster doses para doon sa eligible para manatili tayong protektado laban sa virus,” Vergeire said.

(As we are seeing a slight increase in cases among those who are not vaccinated, we continue to remind the public to get their primary doses, as well as the first and second booster doses for those who are eligible so that we remain protected against the virus.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News