The country’s daily COVID-19 cases could drop to as low as 83 by mid-March for as long as Filipinos continue to observe health protocols and a fresh surge in infections is avoided.
Department of Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire made the statement as the country logged 1,923 new cases on Saturday, the sixth day that daily cases fell below 3,000.
The DOH said 198 new fatalities and 5,158 recoveries were recorded.
The positivity rate has significantly dropped to 7.9 percent, bringing it closer to the 5 percent benchmark set by the World Health Organization, while active cases stood at 62,533.
“Our daily cases nationally may be as low as 83 cases only by March 15 if our vaccination rate continues to rise and if our mobility and compliance to minimum public health standards can be retained at the current level,” Vergeire said.
She, however, warned that based on the same DOH study, infections could rise to as many as 7,748 cases daily by March 15 if compliance to public health standards would be reduced.
“Once mobility increases or if there is complacency, the number of cases can rise again because we know that the virus is still here,” she said,
The government has vaccinated at least 3.5 million individuals against COVID-19 at the end of the third wave of the “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” program that ran from February 10 to 18.
Vergeire said the number of vaccinated individuals during the mass vaccination drive fell short of the government’s target of five million.
“Even though we did not achieve our five million target, we are still glad we have achieved 3.5 million, which boosted the vaccination rate in the entire country,” she added.