MANILA - Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday told Filipinos not to be complacent against COVID-19 following a surge in cases in Metro Manila.

The Philippines rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination program last week, using jabs donated by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech, and then those from AstraZeneca acquired through the COVAX Facility.

• Philippines begins COVID-19 vaccination drive

"Kaya iyong sa atin lang sana hindi maging kampante, kahit po may bakuna na. Kahit po may bakuna na, dahil hindi pa naman malawakan iyong rollout, huwag tayong mag-relax ng ating mga health protocols," she said in her weekly radio show.

(Let's not be complacent even if there are already vaccines. Although the supplies have arrived, the rollout is still not yet expansive, let's not relax our health protocols.)

Robredo also urged residents of high-risk areas identified by the OCTA Research Group to be more vigilant against the coronavirus.

The OCTA Research Group has warned that the current uptick in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila was faster than that of August last year.

• Current surge in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila worse than last year's: OCTA Research

On Friday and Saturday, the country's additional cases each topped the 3,000 mark, pushing the cumulative total to 591,138, of which, 43,323 are active infections.

Metro Manila accounts for nearly 41 percent of the total cases, with 241,915, latest data from the Department of of Health showed.

The group forecasts the country would tally 5,000 to 6,000 new cases per day by the end of March, with Metro Manila reaching 2,000 daily new cases per day by March 21, and 3,000 new cases per day by March 31, if the current reproduction rate of continues.

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