The number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country is at its "peak" again, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday, March 17.

The Philippines' new COVID-19 cases are at the same peak level that happened in July last year, said Dr. Dr. Alethea de Guzman of the DOH-Epidemiology Bureau.

"Yesterday, it is now at same peak. Ibig sabihin, kung gaano karami yung nagiging pinakamataas na dami ng pagkakasakit last July (Yesterday it is now at same peak. It means that the number of new cases last July), now it is at the same ," said De Guzman during a media forum.

"Kung dati nagre-report lang tayo nung simula ng Enero at around 1,000 cases, napansin nyo naman siguro na on the average we are reporting at an average of 3,000 cases already (If previously we were only reporting around 1,000 cases in the beginning of January, you may have noticed that on the average, we are now reporting 3,000 cases already). What we are reporting for the first two weeks of March, were 2.5 times higher than what we reported in January," she added.

In July 2020, the number of COVID-19 cases being reported daily had gone up to 6,000 then.

De Guzman emphasized that the different coronavirus variants are not only the reason why the COVID-19 cases are increasing.

“Oo, nakaka-contribute talaga itong mga variants of concern doon sa napakabilis na pagtaas ng kaso natin (Yes, these variants of concern really contribute to the rapid increase in our cases) because that is the inherent characteristics of the variant:  increased transmissibility,” she said.

“Pero... kahit wala pa tayong nakikita pang mga variants of concern sa mga maraming lugar sa Pilipinas, talagang meron pagtaas ng kaso dito sa ibat-ibang rehiyon, probinsya, siyudad, munisipyo natin. Ibig sabihin, hindi lamang variants of concern ang dahilan ng pagtaas (But...even though we have not seen any variants of concern in many places in the Philippines, there is definitely an increase in cases in various regions, provinces, cities, municipalities. In other words, the variants of concern are not the only reasons for the increase),” she added.

The DOH observed the clustering of cases in the household and workplaces. The increase in mobility of the people is also contributing to the spike in cases, said De Guzman.

“Maraming ibang factors. At the end of the day, it is really our adherence to all of these minimum public health standards na nagiging driver bakit tuloy-tuloy at mabilis pagtaas ng kaso. It is how fast we are doing the contact tracing, how well we are isolating people, and people submitting themselves na magpatingin na agad (There are many other factors. At the end of the day, it is really our adherence to all of these minimum public health standards that becomes the driver why there is an increase in cases. Also, it is how fast we are doing the contact tracing, how well we are isolating people, and people submitting themselves to get a (health) checkup right away),” the DOH official said.

“Napakamahalaga ng buong PDITR (Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate) strategy natin para may variant man o wala, matigil na natin yung nakikita nating mabilis na pagtaas ng kaso nationally (Our PDITR strategy is very important so that with or without a variant, we can stop the rapid increase in cases nationally),” she added.