Manila expert sees no end in sight for virus due to Omicron

MANILA: An infectious disease expert on Monday said he does not see the end of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Philippines mainly due to the presence of the Omicron variants.

“For now, I’m not seeing this, although our cases are lower now compared to September last year. We still have a community transmission, especially of BA.5 variant of Omicron,” Dr. Rontgene Solante said.

“Maybe not yet within the next two or three months,” Solante told a public briefing in a mix of Filipino and English.

He was reacting to the statement of World Health organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus regarding the end of the pandemic was now “in sight.”

Solante noted that based on the WHO data, the Philippines is among the countries reporting a high number of COVID deaths on a weekly basis.

For this, he recommended to the public the importance of wearing face mask.

This is especially true, he said with senior citizens aged 60 and above and persons with comorbidities (those afflicted with ailments like diabetes and cancer).

Solante also cited the urgent need for people to maintain health standards, especially in gatherings like wearing of face mask and social distancing.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of people having their booster shots as an added layer of protection against COVID-19 and deaths.

Latest Department of Health (DOH) data indicated that over 72.2 million people have been fully vaccinated while over 18 million have received their booster shots.

But Solante said there should be more people geting their booster jabs.

He noted that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos aim to inoculate 100 million Filipinos in the first 100 days in office has not been successful.

In a related development, the OCTA research group noted that the COVID positivity rate in six areas has swelled in a one week period or from Sept.10 to 17.

Areas are in Metro Manila or the National

Capital Region, Bulacan in Central Luzon, Pangasinan in Northern Luzon, and Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal in Southern Luzon.

According to OCTA, Manila registered an increase in the positivity rate at 15.6 per cent; Bulacan, 16.1 per cent; Cavite, 16.6 per cent; Laguna, 10.7 per cent; Pangasinan, 8 per cent; and Rizal, 18.7 per cent.

Recently, President Marcos issued an executive order, making optional the use of face masks outdoors.

This was contested by some experts who warned that it will probably cause an upsurge in COVID-19 infections.