Follow protocols, or COVID cases in Manila may hit 2,000 daily by end-Jul: Duque

The Philippines’ health chief has warned that Metro Manila could see 2,000 COVID-19 cases per day by the end of July, according to CNN Philippines.

Citing projections by the Australian Tuberculosis Modelling Network (AuTuMN), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Thursday (June 23) that the spike could come if public health protocols continue to be ignored and if booster uptake remains low.

Cases in the capital region could reach between 800 and 1,200 a day by the end of June, said Duque. “Pero by the end of July, pwedeng umabot ng 1,500 to 2,000 cases daily and after that magpa-plateau siya to below 1,000 (But by the end of July, cases could reach 1,500 to 2,000 daily and after that, cases will plateau to below 1,000).”

The projection is based on assumptions such as a decline in people’s compliance with minimum public health standards, low uptake in booster shots and the presence of fast-spreading Omicron subvariants with immune escape characteristics.

Nevertheless, Duque was confident that the country will be able to manage the renewed spike in cases.

On Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) warned of the start of another “peak” in COVID cases in the country, urging the public to observe health protocols. The capital region is under the lowest alert level until the end of the month.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Wednesday that severe and critical cases only make up about 11 per cent of total admissions nationwide.

While some 70 million people have completed their vaccination against the coronavirus, only 14.7 million have gotten booster shots.