The City Health Department (CHD) of Pasig City said on Thursday, June 16, that the gradual rise in Covid-19 cases recorded in the city is no cause for concern as the risk classification of the virus is currently moderate, and the positivity rate in the city is low.
The Department of Health (DOH) observed a recent increase in Covid-19 cases recorded in the National Capital Region (NCR).
In a press briefing on Wednesday, June 15, the DOH said the rise was recorded "since mid-May, exceeding 100 cases per day this June."
Data from DOH Covid-19 tracker indicates Pasig as the third city in the National Capital Region (NCR) with the most confirmed Covid-19 cases, totalling 85,135.
As of June 15, Pasig has had 120 new cases in the last 14 days, determined by the date of the onset of the illness, according to the DOH tracker.
Data from the CHD indicated that the Covid-19 attack rate in the city is 5.43 cases per 100,000 population, which was a few steps up from the 3 per 100,000 two weeks ago.
Twenty new cases were added in a single day, from the 30 active cases recorded on Sunday, June 12, to 50 tallied on Monday, June 13.
From 52 cases logged on Tuesday, June 14, the number of active cases in the city on Wednesday, June 15, dropped to 45, as per the CHD data.
"The increase in the number of cases is incremental. It is not followed by a commensurate increase in admissions. This despite the fact that we've been noticing a gradual increase in the number of new and active cases for the past month already," Dr. Joseph Panaligan, the chief of the Pasig CHD, said in a text message to Manila Bulletin.
He remarked that "the admitted cases in the city's Covid-19 Referral Facility are also in the low single digits, around two to three for the past week", adding that majority of the Covid-19 cases were mild and asymptomatic.
Including both new admissions and existing patients, Panaligan said the city's hospitals' confinement rate averaged around 10 cases per day for the past two weeks with seven per day for the past week.
"People have already been out in the streets, attending mass gatherings (e.g., election-related, other social activities, etc.), transitioning back to pre-pandemic lifestyle (e.g., malling, indoor dining, etc.) and yet we have not experienced a drastic increase in the number of cases or increase in hospitalizations or health care utilization," he added.
Panaligan assured that "the city government is ready for any eventuality in case there is a surge", citing the city's functional Covid-19 Referral Facility, the RHS Isolation and Quarantine Facility, the Molecular Lab, the antigen testing stockpile, as well as the contract tracing team and its respective digital application.
The city utilizes a Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate (PDITR) aimed at handling the virus in all stages of the pandemic.
"There is an uptick in Covid cases, but most important to note is that our hospital admission rate is not increasing," said Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto in a social media post on Wednesday, June 15.
"Pero wag pa rin natin kalimutan ang health protocols lalo na ang pagsuot ng face mask (But let's not forget to follow the health protocols, especially the wearing of face masks)," Sotto reminded citizens.
On Thursday, June 16, the DOH announced that the NCR is still under a low-risk classification, and the region's healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) in the low-risk category.