Severe, critical Covid cases on the rise — DOH
There is an increase in the number of severe and critical Covid-19 cases in the country, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that the country now has at least 800 severe and critical Covid-19 patients.
“Yes, we confirmed that the number or the percentage of severe and critical infections have been noted to be increasing for these past weeks,” said Vergeire during a press briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 23. “Itong severe and critical infections, pag tiningnan natin sa kabuuan, hindi naman lumalagpas doon sa sinasabi nating 10 percent na threshold or 1,000 na number ng cases na threshold. It is still 800 plus— nandoon lang tayo sa trend na iyon, although hindi natin gustong maliitin yung numero na iyon (These severe and critical infections, when we look at them as a whole, do not exceed the 10 percent threshold or the threshold of 1,000 cases. It is still 800 plus—we are only on that trend, although we do not want to ignore such a number). Most of these admitted severe and critical [cases], 60 percent of them are unvaccinated or just partially vaccinated.”
The DOH official on Aug. 20 also noted that they have observed an increase in deaths due to Covid-19 in July and mid-August. Most of these people were unvaccinated as well.
On Aug. 5, Vergeire reported that hospital admissions may increase in September or October due to waning immunity.
The DOH official urged eligible Filipinos to join the “PinasLakas” vaccination campaign and immediately get their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots.
Case numbers on decline
Meanwhile, with a growth rate of -14 percent and less than one reproduction number, independent OCTA Research group confirmed that cases of Covid-19 in the country are on a decline.
Days ahead of the expiration of the State of Calamity in the entire country due to Covid-19, the number of Covid-19 infections in the Philippines has been declining.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 23, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David disclosed that the country’s growth rate was at -14 percent with a reproduction number of .97.
“Medyo significant pa rin ang level ng cases kaya patuloy pa rin ang pag-iingat natin pero karamihan ng lugar sa Pilipinas, katulad ng National Capital Region (NCR) ay bumababa na (The level of cases is still significant so we still need to be cautious but most areas in the Philippines, such as the NCR, are seeing a decline in cases),” said David on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
Metro Manila’s growth rate, on the other hand, stood at -12 percent while its reproduction number was at 1.04. The region’s healthcare utilization was at 37 percent. This, according to David, is “manageable,” still far from the “warning level” at 50 percent.
“Yung intensive care unit (ICU) utilization natin importante ito dahil ito ang mga severe cases, nasa 31 percent lang. Noong dati sa mga nakaraan na surge ay umabot ito sa 60 percent or even as high as 70 to 80 percent. We can manage this. At kung patuloy na bumababa ang cases natin most likely ay hindi na rin tataas ang healthcare utilization natin (Our ICU utilization is important because this pertains to severe cases. It is only 31 percent. In previous surges, it reached 60 percent or even as high as 70 to 80 percent. We can manage this, and if our cases continue to decrease, most likely our healthcare utilization will not increase either),” he added.
There are still regions seeing an uptick in cases, mostly in northern Luzon and southern Mindanao, according to David, but he said these areas may also see a decline before long.
Asked whether the return of in-person classes may drive another surge, David said that it is “too early” to determine, but there will always be a possibility for the cases to increase and decline.