Department of Health official on Saturday said the country’s active COVID-19 infections could drop further to at least 7,000 nationwide during the December holidays if current trends remained, as the positivity rate also continued to dip.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, noted the projection made last week depended on the country’s mobility, detection-to-isolation response, and the public’s compliance to health protocols.
Meanwhile, the OCTA Research Group said Saturday the Philippines may see less than 1,000 new daily COVID-19 cases by the end of November, as new infections consistently eased, and the number of vaccinated Filipinos grew.
“The cases have decreased. The 7-day average in the Philippines is now 1,400. We expect that to go down to less than 1,000 by the end of the month, consistently less than 1,000,” said OCTA fellow Prof. Guido David.
The country on Saturday reported 1,474 more COVID-19 infections, with the daily tally falling below 1,500 for a fifth straight day, data showed.
Vergeire also warned that the number of active cases could also go up to 20,000 during the same period if mobility rises to 98 percent, and the public’s health compliance decreased by as much as 24 percent.
“This is still low, and we can see that it will continue to decrease. We still need, however, to maintain this and comply with safety protocols,” she said.
In related developments, the revised testing and quarantine protocols for international travelers will be implemented starting Monday, November 22, National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) spokesperson Restituto Padilla Jr. said Saturday.
Also, the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (ACAP) called on the government to adjust travel its policies, as the demand for flights is picking up as the holiday season nears.
Cebu Pacific Air announced Saturday that local government units of 24 domestic destinations in its network have eased local travel requirements.
These local destinations no longer require negative RT-PCR COVID test results for fully vaccinated passengers, CEB said in a statement.
The Bureau of Immigration also said it will be reverting to their pre-pandemic office hours starting Nov. 22.
In an advisory, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the move was in relation to the de-escalation of the National Capital Region to Alert Level 2, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
The work hours, said Morente, will be reverted to their regular 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. schedule.