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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOH denies reports of artificial increase in Covid-19 cases days before election

DOH denies reports of artificial increase in Covid-19 cases days before election

Published Apr 30, 2022 03:18 pm

DOH

The Department of Health (DOH) has denied rumors that it is set to report an "artificial" rise in Covid-19 cases a few days before the conduct of the national and local elections.

"The Department of Health categorically denies unfounded rumors that it will report an artificial increase in Covid-19 cases close to election day for partisan use against any candidate at any level," the DOH said in a statement on Saturday, April 30.

It noted that the Philippines has a low number of cases due to the public's adherence to health protocols and vaccination.

"Our high vaccination coverage for primary series and very good compliance to minimum public health standards have resulted in low Covid-19 case trends with an average of 195 cases daily in the past week and an overall national positivity rate of 1.2 percent," the DOH said.

Lockdown

In a public briefing, DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje expressed optimism that the government will not implement hard lockdowns based on the current case trend.

“Hindi naman significant ang mga increase ng cases. Although, we should not be putting our guards down, tuluy-tuloy pa rin ang pag-monitor natin ng ating mga kaso. So, kung sakali man, kung sakali man magla-lockdown, it will be a granular lockdown (The increase in cases is not significant. Although we should not be putting our guards down, we are still continuously monitoring our cases. So, just in case there will be a lockdown, it will just be a granular lockdown),” she said in a public briefing.

“So, confident din tayo na kung kasama iyong minimum public health standard at mataas ang vaccination ng area, fully vaccinated rates nila, including the vaccination of our senior citizens,eh malamang hindi magkakaroon ng lockdown (we are also confident that as long as minimum public health standards are being followed and an area's vaccination rate is high, including among senior citizens—probably, a lockdown will not happen),” she added.

Metrics

The DOH also noted that it is considering other metrics to assess the country's Covid-19 situation aside from monitoring case trends.

"The DOH also uses other metrics such as healthcare utilization to evaluate and recommend to higher authorities whether an escalation or de-escalation of Alert Levels is warranted," it said.

All Filipinos were urged to remain vigilant and follow the necessary safety protocols.

"Instead of spreading false and unverified information, we can all do our part in preventing further transmission and avoiding further restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic by wearing best-fitted mask, isolate when sick, double up protection with vaccination and boosters, and ensuring good airflow," the DOH said.

Related Tags

rumors covid-19 Department of Health (DOH) cases increase
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