PH in 'right direction' in its fight vs COVID-19 -- UP expert

A research expert from the University of the Philippines (UP) said the country is in “the right direction” in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR).

“For the first time, we’re having two or even three weeks in decline in new cases, so this is the important part, it’s the trend,” Dr. Guido David, a member of the UP-OCTA Research Team, told ANC on Monday.

David also said that “all indicators” are going down including the reproduction rate (r naught), positivity rate, and hospital utilization.

“Definitely, we are headed in the right direction sa (in) NCR,” David said.

David said the improvements can be attributed to a better implementation of the community quarantine guidelines.

“We are doing more localized lockdowns, isolation and quarantines have improved, testing has also increased, we are also doing more contact tracing,” the research expert said.

“Then yung (our) health protocols natin, we have already scaled it up,” he added.

David, however, reminded the public that improvements in the country's COVID situation do not mean that “we can relax now.”

“This is just the first descent. Kumbaga, umakyat tayo ng mountain, nasa tuktok tayo, pababa na tayo. (Pero) mataas pa rin tayo sa bundok. (Basically, we climbed to the top of a mountain, and now we’re descending. But we’re still at the high point of the mountain),” he said.

“We're still getting more than 1,000 cases per day in the NCR but we have to sustain this until we get the number of cases down to a very manageable level,” he added.

David said that while the curve has flattened in the NCR, the country still has a “long way to go” in its fight against COVID-19.

“Let’s not get overly excited about the flattening of the curve. We’re still a few months away from reducing the number of cases to a very manageable level in Metro Manila,” he said.

“We still have to be very careful, the virus is still out there and it's still killing people,” he added.

David said the goal now is to reduce the number of transmissions so that quarantine measures can be realized further.

“Until then, the fight is not over. We still have to work together. At least we are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

David, meanwhile, said the government also needs to focus on areas which are emerging hotspots for COVID-19 like Bacolod, Iloilo, and Tacloban.

“ We also have to put attention to these places and make sure that they don't spread the virus,” he said