Health authorities confirm surge may happen in QC

MANILA (2ND UPDATE) - The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said Metro Manila posted a slight rise in terms of new COVID-19 cases in the past week, but said the uptick is not alarming.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the capital region posted a 1.6 percent rise in positivity rate. Fourteen out of the 17 areas in the country had a positive growth rate.

In a separate statement, the DOH said NCR's positivity rate was at 2 percent between June 2 and June 8.

"Sa ngayon, nakikita natin, nasa low-risk pa naman tayo. Ibig sabihin itong mga kaso natin, hindi pa nasu-sustain ang pagtaas na tuloy-tuloy," Vergeire said in a public briefing.

"Ibig sabihin nadadagdagan po ang kaso pero katulad ng sinabi natin, hindi pa siya ganoon ka-significant because ang ating admissions naman sa mga ospital ay hindi pa tumataas pa at ang ating severe and critical, hindi pa mataas," she added.

Vergeire attributed the uptick in fresh COVID-19 cases to the presence of the more transmissible omicron subvariants and the population's "waning immunity."

"Marami sa mga kababayan natin ang hindi kumukuha ng mga boosters and maaaring maging factor din ito dito po sa pagtaas ng kaso dito sa NCR and other areas," she said.

HIGHEST IN NEARLY 2 MONTHS

DOH on Saturday reported the highest daily increase in cases in nearly 2 months or since April 20 after logging 297 new cases. Of the fresh cases, 151 came from NCR.

This brings the total caseload to 3,692,914. No new deaths were tallied. Meanwhile, active cases were at 2,805.

QC UNDER YELLOW STATUS

Vergeire also confirmed that Quezon City is under yellow status, which means that a "surge" of fresh COVID-19 cases is "possible" in the next 2 weeks.

A photo being shared on social media showed a slide from the Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) noting that the average daily cases there was already at 26 as of June 9.

This was "111.76 percent higher compared to the previous week average," the slide showed.

"Gusto ko lang paalalahanan tama po yung slide na meron pagtaas ng kaso dito sa QC and even in other parts of Metro Manila, lagi nating titingnan na that the virus is here, that the virus will cause infections ang kailangan natin bantayan ay huwag magkaroon ng malulubhang kaso, huwag mapuno ang ating ospital," said Vergeire.

"It was... an internal meeting among officials para lang mag-prepare hindi para takutin ang ating mga kababayan kaso nag-leak po, so nagpa-panic ang ating mga kababayan sa ngayon," said Vergeire.

In a separate interview on Teleradyo, Dr. Rolly Cruz, head of the QCESU, said a yellow status means there is a continued rise in new COVID-19 infections in the past 14 days. The classification is part of the local government's early warning system.

He also confirmed that Quezon City is now under the yellow status.

"Nasa yellow status tayo ibig sabihin, nakakita tayo ng patuloy na pagtaas ng kaso... Kaya ang ginagawa namin ngayon is nire-review namin yung response namin," said Cruz.

He also noted that COVID-19 infections are prevalent among families and in work places. The public has also been complacent in following minimum health standards, including face mask wearing.

"Nawala na yung pagsunod sa minimum health standards natin... Nakita natin na parang back to normal na ang gathering, back to normal na ang seminar... pero magpatuloy tayo sa health standards," he added.

The official said local authorities are currently assessing their response to prepare for any scenario should cases continue to increase.

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Cruz said there won't be granular lockdowns for now, but vows aggressive contact tracing.

"Because cases are low, it's easy to do contact tracing and that's what we're doing right now. We are prepared to give necessary assistance for those who are in home quarantine. Granular lockdowns will not be an option this time," Cruz said, urging residents to get their booster shots.

The Philippines logged 287 new cases on Friday, 121 of which came from Metro Manila, data analyzed by the ABS-CBN Data Analytics team showed.

ABS-CBN Data Analytics head Edson Guido said this is the highest daily rise in almost 2 months or since April 20.

Guido noted that the country's positivity rate from June 5 to 9 was at 1.8 percent.

— With a report from Johnson Manabat, ABS-CBN News

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Video from PTV