Given the ongoing decreasing trend of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections in the Philippines, an OCTA Research fellow, on Monday, Feb. 28, said that the nation’s cases could further decrease to less than 1,000 by March 2022.

“Sana magpatuloy nga . We are projecting na by tomorrow ay less than nasa triple digits na lang ‘yung number of cases natin sa buong bansa. By next week, definitely, tuluy-tuloy na ‘yan daily ay we won't be seeing more than 1,000 cases (Hopefully the decreasing number of cases will continue. We are projecting that by tomorrow, March 1, the number of cases nationwide will be less than 1,000 and will only be in triple digits. By next week, definitely, that will continue and we won’t be seeing more than 1,000 cases daily) ,” said OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David in the “Laging Handa” public briefing.

David said that the uncertainty of the resurgence of infections remains, but the group of experts said that they are hoping for the continuous decline of cases in the country.

He also stressed that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’s decision to place Metro Manila under an Alert Level 1 status is “reasonable.”

“We have to take some risks but we think that the risks are minimal. Like I mentioned, especially with the Ukraine and Russia conflict, it changes the importance of things. That’s why it is also important for us to make sure economic recovery is on its way so that minimize effects countries ,” David added.

Despite the easing of restrictions, the public was urged to strictly adhere to minimum public health standards because “the virus is still here.”

The country’s pandemic task force placed Metro Manila under an Alert Level 1 status from March 1 to March 15. This, according to the Department of Health (DOH), will be considered the country’s “new normal.”