The Department of Health was hopeful Monday the number of COVID-19 cases would continue to decrease as there was no longer in its eye range a large cluster of cases in certain parts of the country.
“We can see a decreasing trend in the number of cases and there is increasing availability of resources. The clustering of cases in areas previously identified as hotspots are also gone,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a virtual briefing.
Vergeire pointed out that the country’s transmission rate had been less than one “in the past weeks and months," which meant transmission rate had slowed down.
“The average number of cases is in a stable condition. Less than 2000 for the past week already,” she pointed out.
The health official also said most regions had a critical care utilization rate within the “safe zone." Nobody was at a critical level or had an occupancy of 85 percent or more.
“This is a good indication when it comes to the situation of COVID-19 here in the Philippines. But as we always say, this is not the time to be complacent,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire urged the public to stay vigilant and to continue complying with health standards such as the wearing of masks, physical distancing, and frequent hand washing.
“Hopefully in the coming months the number of cases will continue to go down,” she said.
DOH however acknowledged that a surge in cases was likely after many Filipinos were forced to stay in evacuation centers due to recent typhoons.
DOH has since deployed safety officers in evacuation areas to enforce health standards, Vergeire said.
COVID updates
The Philippines logged Monday 1,738 new COVID-19 cases in the country, bringing the total to 409,574, amid failure of nine laboratories to submit their reports, the Department of Health reported.
The top cities and provinces with highest new cases are Davao City, 140; Cavite, 117; Rizal, 89; Laguna, 87; and Batangas, 79.
There are 27,369 active cases in the country, which is 6.7 percent of the total number of cases. Of the active cases, 83 percent are mild; 5.3 percent are critical; 3 percent are severe; and 0.20 percent are moderate.
The DOH also reported 45 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 374,366, which is 91.4 percent of the total cases, apart from seven new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 7,839, which is 1.91 percent of the total cases.
ICU bed capacity
The DOH also reported that, nationwide, of the approximately 1,900 total ICU bed capacity, 57 percent were available; of the approximately 13,500 total isolation bed capacity, 59 percent were available; of the 5,900 total ward bed capacity; 71 percent were available; and of the approximately 2,000 total number of units of ventilators, 78 percent were available.
The series of typhoons that devastated, if not flooded, significant parts of the country did not slow down the operations of COVID-19 testing laboratories, the Department of Health said Monday.
Vergeire made the assurance in the aftermath of typhoons Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses which left scores of people dead and hundreds of thousands of families displaced.
COVID vaccines
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said up to P150 billion should be earmarked for COVID-19 vaccines in the unprogrammed funds under the P4.5 trillion national budget for 2021.
He made the statement during the budget debates in the Senate, in view of the government's reported plan to borrow up to $9 billion (P435 billion) from multilateral institutions to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.
"Shouldn't we provide the appropriation, if not in the program, since we're borrowing the money anyway, in the unprogrammed fund of at least P100 to P150 billion? Because that should provide confidence to the people," Recto said.
Experts are saying 60 percent of the population should be vaccinated to generate "herd immunity," according to Recto.
Turnaround time
The series of typhoons that devastated and flooded significant parts of the country did not slow down the operations of COVID-19 testing laboratories, Vergeire said.
In an online forum, Vergeire said “During typhoon Rolly, there were 26 laboratories which were not able to submit results…but we can see that of the number of laboratories reporting [results daily], an average of eight to 10 were not able to make a report.”
Vergeire said Region 2 –where Cagayan and Isabela were submerged by floods – had only one COVID-19 testing laboratory.
At least 4.96 million Filipinos have been tested for COVID-19. Of this number, 9.3 percent tested positive for COVID-19 infection, based on Sunday’s data.
Health workers
DOH reported that 292 more health workers contracted COVID-19 during the past week, raising the total to 11,730 as of November 14.
The DOH, in its daily COVID-19 report, said total recoveries among health workers rose to 11,383 after 325 more recovered from the respiratory disease, while the death toll climbed to 71 with two new fatalities.
The other 275 medical workers are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, the DOH said.
The five medical professions with the highest number of COVID-19 cases are nurses with 4,173 infections, doctors with 2,053, nursing assistants with 905, medical technologists with 572, and midwives with 346 cases.
Over 500 other non-medical personnel such as utility workers, security guards, and administrative staff were also included in the tally.