Independent research group OCTA on Friday, Oct. 29, expressed optimism that the Philippines may have only around 1,000 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases per day by Christmas amid the continuous downward trend in infections.

OCTA research fellow Dr. Guido David said the highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 has already reached its endgame in the country.

"Kaya nakikita natin na tuloy-tuloy . Sana hanggang Pasko baka nasa 2,000, or even 1,000 cases per day sa buong Pilipinas. Kaya 'yun sa Pasko (That's why we are seeing that cases will go down continuously. Hopefully, by Christmas there would only be 2,000, or even 1,000 cases per day in the Philippines. That's achievable this Christmas," he said in a Teleradyo interview.

David is not seeing the country reach 10,000 to 20,000 cases again as long as people continue to adhere to the minimum public health standards.

"Kumbaga nasa endgame na tayo ng Delta variant kaya hindi na natin nakikita na magkaka-resurgence (In other words, we have already reached the endgame of the Delta variant that's why we no longer see a resurgence)," David said.

"Kailangan pa rin natin mag-ingat kasi pwede pa rin magkaroon ng spikes ng cases, mga clustering, local outbreaks, pero in general tingin natin hindi na tayo babalik sa 10,000 or 20,000 cases per day (We still need to be careful because there can still be spikes of cases, clustering, local outbreaks, but in general we think we will not go back to 10,000 or 20,000 cases per day)," he said.

Based on the research group's monitoring, the country averaged 4,700 cases per day in the past seven days.

The surge in cases driven by the Delta variant has reached its peak in September when the country registered over 20,000 daily cases for several days.

Meanwhile, David said he supports the easing of the alert system in Metro Manila to Alert Level 2 due to the continuous improvement in the country's COVID-19 situation.

"'Yung alert level 2 sinusuportahan natin yan kasi para sa mga negosyo natin para makabawi businesses natin, ang economy. Pero kailangan pa rin ang pagsunod natin sa health protocols (We support the Alert Level 2 in Metro Manila to allow businesses and the economy to recover our businesses. But we still need to follow health protocols)," he said.

David urged the public to avoid the 3Cs--confined spaces with poor ventilation; crowded places with no physical distancing; and close-contact settings with face-to-face interaction.