There is a slight increase in the number of new Covid-19 cases in the Philippines but this is not a cause for concern at this time, an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, April 14.
Recently, the Department of Health (DOH) monitored an uptick in the number of new Covid-19 cases in some parts of the country, particularly in Mindanao and the National Capital Region. The Philippines’ average daily cases is projected to reach 600 by May 15. The current average cases per day is at 278.
Dr. Babatunde Olowokure, WHO regional emergency director for the Western Pacific, said that an uptick in cases is anticipated “whenever there are holidays or whether there are events where people gathered together.”
“We have recently of course had Easter holidays…so, it is not a concern but we continue to monitor, we continue to look at the severity and if we do see an increase, of course, we will be in touch with the DOH and to see how we can support,” said Olowokure in a press briefing.
Olowokure also noted that the uptick in cases has not translated into a rise in hospital admissions and deaths.
“I think, if we see a slight increase, again as I said earlier, we need to interpret with caution what that is and what may be the cause,” he said.
“What we are really concerned about: does the slight increase in cases---does it reflect an increase in hospitalizations and increase in severity in terms of people being hospitalized in ICU units or an increase in the number of deaths. So, we have not seen that at this time,” he added.
This kind of development is not unique in the Philippines, said Olowokure.
“This is also reflected in other countries as well. The Philippines is not unique in the situation but also as seen in other countries,” he said.
Right track
The WHO is “seeing” a reduction in hospitalizations and in the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in the Philippines, said Olowokure.
With this, the Philippines is on the right track in terms of its responses against the pandemic, said Olowokure.
“So that gives us some confidence that we are on the right track in terms of what is happening in the Philippines,” he said.
Emergency phase
The WHO also expressed willingness to provide guidance to the Philippine government in deciding whether or not to end its state of public health emergency due to Covid-19.
“If [the] government would seek WHO’s advice, we can provide advice and guidance on what can be done. But we have been working very well together with DOH throughout the pandemic and we are happy to advise on any aspects that they would wish to consider,” said Olowokure.
“WHO itself cannot make the decision for [the] government. The government needs to make that decision based on information available and also what else is happening across the world,” he added.
One important aspect to consider is the level of vaccination, said Olowokure.
“Clearly, we have a number of factors that we would also like to see, not just in the Philippines, but also elsewhere—is the vaccination of the population with regards to the Covid-19 vaccine. And also ensuring that the most vulnerable and hard to reach populations, particularly the elderly and those with comorbidities are protected,” he said.
The move of other countries to end their state of public health emergency due to Covid-19 is “fine” with the WHO, said Olowokure.
“I think this is fine because they are able to…they have in their country reached a level where they are confident that they can respond to the disease and they can monitor it at their population [and] is able to respond appropriately,” he said.
“This does not affect the overall public health emergency of international concern as declared by the Director General because this is a global event. So therefore, yes, you are seeing individual countries who are saying that for them, the emergency is over. But this time, the public health emergency of international concern remains in place,” he added.