THE Department of Health (DOH) clarified on Saturday that the number of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) has not hit a peak yet.
This runs counter to the analysis made by OCTA Research Group senior fellow Guido David.
During a Laging Handa press briefing, DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the data of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila has yet to be examined by the health agency to reasonably conclude that it has reached the highest point level.
“Hindi pa ho natin masabi sa ngayon e, ‘no? So, kasi ito pong peak kapag sinabi niyo[ng peak], iyan na ‘yong pinakamataas na makukuha nating numero at pagkatapos no’n ay patuloy na bababa,” Vergeire explained.
The DOH official further elaborated that the claim can be hardly proved as cases in the NCR remain inconsistent, citing daily records that show the capital region’s irregular high and low number of cases.
“Kung makikita po natin in one of the days last week mayro’n po tayong itinala sa NCR na almost 8,000 cases in a day pagkatapos po no’n nakita po natin na nagpatuloy siya doon sa trend na 5,000 to 5,500 cases per day at ito pong recent days nakita natin [na] 5,800 naman so tataas [at] bababa, tataas [at] bababa. So, at this point, in our analysis, hindi pa po natin nakikita na nagpe-peak na po tayo dito po sa mga kaso. So, pinag-aaralan po natin [nang] maigi ‘yan,” she said.
Vergeire’s answer came after David’s observation of COVID-19 cases’ trend has surfaced on Twitter.
“Early indications are that the surge may have already peaked in the NCR, but efforts must be sustained to ensure the trend continues downward,” he wrote atop a figure he posted.
According to the OCTA researcher, the COVID-19 reproduction number of Metro Manila has decreased to 1.22, while the positivity rate decreased to 24 percent
David noted that chances are COVID-19 cases in the region would be sustained or otherwise, reverse and soar high due to backlog.
Thus, he urged the government to maintain its effort and response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that the trend will ultimately decrease.