The evident increase in the country’s Covid-19 cases is not yet a cause for “real alarm” but the public should still be vigilant against the increasing transmission of the virus, a health expert said on Monday, June 27.

The Department of Health (DOH) recently placed five areas in Metro Manila under moderate risk classification of Covid-19 due to their “sudden rise” in infections. The areas are as follows: Pasig, San Juan, Quezon City, Marikina, and Pateros.

This, however, is not yet a cause for “real alarm” as hospital admissions remain “controlled.”

“It’s a concern since we are actually increasing our Covid-19 cases, but no cause for real alarm considering the health care utilization rate is actually controlled. But we should be alerted because of the increasing viral transmission,” said health reform advocate and former special adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon in an interview on CNN Philippines.

Leachon likewise noted that the national Covid-19 positivity rate is now close to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 5 percent benchmark, while Metro Manila has surpassed it at 5.9 percent.

“What we can do at this moment is to monitor the cases and be vigilant on our minimum public health standards particularly on masking and of course, the ramping up of our booster rate,” added Leachon.

While 70,277,898 Filipinos have already completed their primary vaccine doses, the DOH’s National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard showed that individuals who have been boosted remained low at 14,861,027 as of June 26.

This viral transmission, according to Leachon, may be controlled if the country ramps up its booster inoculation within the first 100 days of incoming president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration.

Keeping PH's Covid-19 hospitalization rate low

Among the risk factors to consider amid the Covid-19 pandemic is the hospitalization rate or the number of individuals who were hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

Leachon said that amid the increasing variants in the country as well as the waning immunity, the best way to keep the hospitalization rate controlled is to keep adhering to minimum public health standards such as, but not limited to, wearing of masks.

“The best way is to keep our masks right now. At this point in time, we urge the public to wear their facemasks and let us not drop our guard,” he furthered.