New COVID-19 cases surpass 12,000 for 2nd consecutive day

MANILA, Philippines — For the second straight day, new coronavirus cases yesterday breached 12,000, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide jumped to 1,700,363 as the DOH recorded 12,439 new cases, the highest tally since April.

It reported 6,090 new recoveries, bringing to 1,583,161 the number of those who recovered from the illness. But the number of active cases hit 87,663 while those who died rose to 29,539, including 165 newly reported fatalities.

At least 14 cities have reached or are close to critical capacity of their local intensive care units (ICUs), illustrating the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide, OCTA Research said.

Citing data from the DOH, OCTA noted the 100-percent ICU utilization rate in the cities of Taguig and Las Piñas in Metro Manila; Bacoor and Dasmariñas in Cavite; and Meycauayan in Bulacan.

Nine other local government units (LGUs) also breached the critical threshold of 80 percent ICU utilization.

They are the cities of San Fernando, Pampanga (96 percent); Cabuyao, Laguna (91 percent); General Trias, Cavite (89 percent); Muntinlupa (89 percent), Metro Manila; Tuguegarao, Cagayan (88 percent); Iloilo City (87 percent); Imus, Cavite (86 percent); Cagayan de Oro (86 percent) and Cebu City (85 percent).

Also nearing the critical level are Quezon City with a 79 percent ICU utilization rate; Santa Rosa, Laguna (77 percent); General Santos (77 percent), and Makati (72 percent).

OCTA fellow Guido David said the situation is “more likely to get worse before it gets better.”

He said the country recorded an average of 9,745 new cases per day from Aug. 5 to 11, up by 28 percent from the 7,594 daily new cases in the preceding week.

Metro Manila had an average of 2,503 daily new cases, up 48 percent from 1,687.

But during an interview with “Sa Totoo Lang” on One PH last Wednesday, David said the early imposition of the two-week lockdown in Metro Manila and other hotspots prevented the worst from happening.

He said extending the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is possible, but they would rather wait and see if the trend changes.

OCTA said the reproduction number in Metro Manila has slightly gone down, but stressed that it is still too early to determine if this is the start of a decreasing trend in the number of new cases.

Delta cases

The DOH also reported the detection of an additional 177 Delta variant cases, bringing the nationwide total to 627.

Of the 177 new Delta cases, 144 were local transmissions, three were returning overseas Filipinos (ROF), and 30 still being verified.

Among the local cases, 90 had indicated addresses in the National Capital Region (NCR); 25 in Calabarzon or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon; 16 in Cagayan Valley; eight in Ilocos; two in Cordillera Administrative Region; two in Western Visayas, and one in Davao region.

The DOH said 173 of Delta cases have been tagged as recovered, one had died, and three were still unverified.

Other variants

It also reported the addition of 102 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant cases, 59 Beta (B.1.351) variant cases, and 14 P.3 variant cases in the latest batch of whole-genome sequencing.

Of the new 102 Alpha cases, 94 were local transmissions while eight were still being verified. Based on the case line list, one is still active while the rest have recovered. The total Alpha variant caseload nationwide has reached 2,195.

For new Beta cases, 53 were local infections and six were being verified. One case is still active, 57 cases have been tagged as recovered, and one case has an outcome which is being verified, said the DOH. Beta variant cases in the country now total 2,421.

The DOH said 13 of the new P.3 variant cases detected were local cases and one is being verified. Two of the new cases have died while 12 have been tagged as recovered.

‘Minors underreported’

The Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) said most children infected with COVID-19 are not being reported because their less severe condition is “managed with supportive and home care.”

“We are not getting the real picture as to milder versions of COVID. We are getting an underreporting here,” PPS official Dr. Maria Carmela Kasala said in a virtual press conference.

DOH data showed a total of 176,540 people aged 19 and below have been infected with COVID-19 as of Aug. 8. The figure included 466 deaths.

However, since COVID-19 in children manifests mild or no symptoms at all, infected children do not make up the same number of hospital admissions as adults with COVID-19, explained Dr. Mary Ann Bunyi, PPS president.

Also, most children even those manifesting COVID-19 symptoms are not getting tested due to the high cost, Bunyi said.

Although the DOH data reflect the bulk of those children infected with COVID-19 belonging to the 15 to 19 age group, Dr. Fatima Gimenez, PPS vice president, said mortality among children is higher among the very young and those with underlying conditions.

OCTA probe not ‘waste of time’

Meanwhile, lawmakers seeking to investigate OCTA and its members assured that the congressional inquiry in aid of legislation will not be “a waste of time” as claimed by Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez.

“We believe that any information that we could derive from this hearing and which would be translated to better policies is not a waste of time,” House Deputy Majority Leader Bong Suntay told the weekly Ugnayan sa Batasan forum last Wednesday.

Like the Quezon City 4th district congressman, Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera of Bagong Henerasyon party-list stressed that the inquiry is not “witch hunt.”

“We just want to know them (OCTA) better, and we want to know the methodology used in their analytics and for them to contextualize their pronouncements,” Herrera said.

Suntay said the probe would serve as a “venue of an intellectual conversation between different groups, different agencies both of government and private sector in order to arrive at how we can join hands and help our country.”

They said that DOH officials and other health experts would be called to the hearing, which would take place once the ECQ in Metro Manila is lifted.

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