The Philippines may need to return to a stricter quarantine classification to control the spread of the coronavirus as cases are feared to skyrocket after the holiday season, an official of the Philippine College of Physicians said on Saturday.
Philippine College of Physicians vice president Dr. Maricar Limpin said the doctors’ group agreed with the Department of Health (DOH) and the OCTA Research team’s projection that COVID-19 cases may reach 4,000 daily.
“We agreed to it na maaring tumaas nga. Maaring pumalo ng 4,000. Nakikita namin ito na mangyayari dahil sa mga nakaraang linggo nakita rin naman kung paano karami [ang mga tao] at hindi nasunod ang health protocols lalo na ‘yung physical distancing,” Limpin said of her observations during the holidays.
“We need to tighten up a little ‘yung quarantine measures na pinapatupad ngayon,” she said in an interview on Dobol Ba sa News TV.
“Sa ngayon nasa GCQ (general community quarantine) tayo. Maaring kailangang medyo higpitan nang konti, siguro MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) para lang po masiguro natin na hindi na dumami pa muli ang mga kaso ng COVID-19 natin,” she added.
Metro Manila, Batangas province, Iloilo City, Tacloban, Iligan, Lanao del Sur, Davao City and Isabela are currently under GCQ until the end of the year, while the rest of the country is under modified GCQ.
1,406 new cases, 469k total
The Philippines on Saturday logged 1,406 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 469,005, as eight laboratories failed to submit their data on time, the DOH reported.
“Eight labs were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Data Repository System (CDRS) on December 25, 2020,” said the DOH COVID-19 Case Bulletin #287.
The DOH also said there are 28,883 active cases, which is 6.2 percent of the total cases. Of the active cases, 82.5 percent are mild cases; 9.9 percent are asymptomatic; 4.8 percent are critical; 2.5 percent are severe; and 0.32 percent are moderate.
Top cities and provinces with new cases are Bulacan, 100; Quezon City, 98; Rizal Province, 88; Laguna, 73; and Batangas, 69.
The DOH also reported 266 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 431,055, or 91.9 percent of the total cases. With five new fatalities, the death toll now stood at 9,067, 1.93 percent of the total cases.
‘Stringent’ on vaccines
COVID-19 vaccines to be secured by the government will have to go undergo "stringent" regulatory procedures before they are made available for public use, a DOH official said Saturday amid doubts over China-made vaccine candidate Sinovac, which reported a 50 percent efficacy rate.
In a public press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reiterated that the World Health Organization's accepted efficacy rate for vaccines is 50 percent and above during outbreaks.
“When they say 50 percent efficacy rate, when this comes in it will undergo stringent regulatory processes so we will still be able to determine and ensure that vaccines entering the country will be accepted by the population,” Vergeire said.
Vaccines, she said, would have to go through layers of procedure before distribution, facilitated by the Food and Drug Administration, an attached agency of the DOH.
The government will also take into consideration the risks, benefits, and the cost efficacy of the vaccines to be used, Vergeire noted.
“With these layers in place, we can assure that our vaccine is the right one and the government will be efficient in procurement,” she said.
Two-week stricter quarantine?
As for the possibility of the return to stricter quarantine level after the holidays, PCP official Limpin said it should be for two weeks “like last time.”
The government had reverted Metro Manila and other high-risk areas to MECQ from August 4 to 18 after medical frontliners pleaded for a “time out” due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases being admitted to health facilities.
“Siguro two weeks para medyo lang maano natin sa mga tao na kailangan bumalik tayo sa standards natin, kasi nakakalimot ang mga tao. Akala nila sa Pasko ay safe na para tayo magsama-sama muli,” she said.
“Hanggang sa ngayon alalahanin natin na nasa pandemiya tayo at hindi pa completely na-eradicate natin ang COVID-19 na ito,” Limpin added.
In a separate interview, Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said the DOH has not yet released any recommendation concerning the possible return to stricter quarantine measure.
He noted that the Health department is still evaluating data to come up with an appropriate recommendation.
IATF to decide
At the Laging Handa public briefing on Saturday, Vergeire said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) will have its meeting over the weekend to discuss whether the country should return to a stricter quarantine classification.
"'Yan po ay isa naman sa mga pinag-aaralan natin buwan-buwan, depende sa numero ng kaso at depende sa kapasidad ng ating health system. We have a scientific process that we undertake every month so we can determine the risk classification of our country and the specific areas in our country," Vergeire said.
Nevertheless, Limpin said healthcare facilities can handle the rise in COVID-19 cases.
“Kaya naman po. In fact, marami naman ang nag-open na mga quarantine facilities. We are happy sa naging response ng government natin, particularly sa mga local government units. Marami ang nag-open na mga quarantine facilities na puwedeng puntahan ng mga mamamayang Pilipino,” she said.
“Dito sa mga ospital handa kaming tignan ang lahat at mag-respond sa mga Pilipino na magkakaroon ng COVIID-19,” she added.
The rise in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines due to increased interactions during the holiday season would be noticeable in the first two weeks of January, OCTA Research fellow Ranjit Rye said Thursday.
"Hindi na if 'yan [pagtaas] eh, but a question of when and how much. Siguradong tataas po. Wala nang kaduda-duda," Rye said.
Members of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 gave the assurance the government is prepared for a possible surge of COVID-19 cases.