Covid-19 infections in the Philippines may sink to as low as 429 daily by December if the public will follow the minimum health standards, the Department of Health (DOH) said. 

DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman confirmed this while citing national projections that daily and active Covid-19 infections may continue to sink next month. 

She warned, however, that Covid-19 infections may spike as high as 2,294 by the end of December if people will not follow the minimum health standards.

“Bakit mababawasan? Nabanggit natin na paparating na naman ang holidays, so posibleng mas dadami ang magiging interactions natin, lalong bababa ang ating social distancing, and of course nababawasan na nga ang ating compliance to masking,” she said during a forum.

“If our MPHS compliance further decreases, our daily cases will actually, may probably range from 1,140 to as high 2,294 by the end of December, and our active cases may also reach a total of as of December,” she continued.

De Guzman added that a spike in Covid-19 infections is expected due to increased mobility, social gatherings, and eased restrictions. 

“Puwedeng dumami ang kaso, but they will not translate to significant increases in our hospitalizations,” she said.

 “The highest number that we will see will be actually around 800 admissions and these are NCR data,” she added.

The DOH’s latest data showed that 73.5 million Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and 20.7 million receiving booster shots.

 

Ronald Espartinez