The Philippines could see 20,000 or even more new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections in a day, especially with the more infectious Delta variant spreading around the country.
“Since we reached 19,000 a day, it could increase to more than 20,000 new Covid-19 cases per day, given that our reproduction number is still greater than 1 [nationwide],” OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said during the Laging Handa briefing.
“But I don’t see it breaching 30,000,” he added.
David’s colleague at OCTA, Ranjit Rye, also said the government’s Covid-19 vaccination program and strict implementation of public health protocols, such as wearing of face mask, face shield and social distancing are now being outrun by the Delta variant.
“When you get fully vaccinated, it takes six weeks for it to fully take effect. Delta’s transmission is faster than the effect of the vaccination. Delta variant is a big factor because it is highly contagious. It is really hard to manage, especially if there is no strict compliance with minimum public health standards,” Rye pointed out.
“We really saw a decline in compliance with minimum public health standards. And so we suggest that people should stay home and if they need to go out to go to work, they should observe minimum public health standards,” he added.
Currently, the country has already vaccinated about 13.8 million Filipinos against Covid-19, lagging behind the government’s plan of 76.3 million vaccinated individuals by the end of the year to achieve herd immunity. Ronald Espartinez