OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David on Sunday, July 4, warned the public against being complacent due to an "unstable" downward trend in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Metro Manila.
In OCTA's monitoring report released on Friday, July 2, it had observed a 5 percent increase in the average daily COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila over the past week.
"Medyo unstable lang ang trend sa NCR (The trend in the National Capital Region is quite unstable). What that means is may mga LGUs na tumaas nang konti ang cases (some local government units have seen a slight increase in cases) but we're not concerned about this because we have seen this over the past two weeks. Sometimes nagkakaroon ng (there are) spike in cases possibly due to some spreaders events, social gathering, or outdoor events na hindi nasunod ang protocols (where protocols are not being followed)," David said in a Telerardyo interview on Sunday.
"Nacocontrol naman agad yan ng (It is immediately controlled by the) LGU that's why it's very important to have contact tracing and testing in place kasi ito yung mga (because these are our) defense natin against the pandemic so we can control this small spikes. Kasama na rin dito yung (This includes) localized or barangay lockdowns)," he added.
While the slight increase in Metro Manila's cases is not yet an immediate concern, David is hoping that the downtrend in cases will go down again, which can be done by following strict health protocols.
"I would like to remind na wag munang magpakampante yung naka first dose pa lang kasi yung (those who had their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine not to be complacent because the) level of protection of vaccines is still low," David said.
"Baka yung iba na naka first dose feeling nila okay na yung protection nila lumalabas na parang old normal na and that is not the case (Maybe there are some who had their first dose and felt it is already okay to go out just like the 'old normal' but that is not the case here)," he added.
"Let's continue on with following health protocols until we have achieved 25 percent to 30 percent, at least, vaccination sa (in) NCR Plus. And maybe by December, maka 50 percent na tayo and we could have our next normal na rin (we could reach 50 percent of vaccinations and we could also have our 'next normal)," he also said.