THE country’s Covid-19 case trend may be showing signs of decline, but areas outside of the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus are reporting higher figures, according to an official of the Department of Health (DOH).
In an online Kapihan Session, Dr. Alethea de Guzman, Epidemiology Bureau Director of the DOH, noted that cases in other areas of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao have all “surpassed” the numbers reported by areas in the NCR Plus.
This as the DOH logged 4,353 additional Covid-19 cases on June 23, with 7,139 recoveries and 119 deaths. The total number of infections in the country rose to 1,372,232 while the death toll stood at 23,928.
“There is a continuous slowing down of the decline in cases in the NCR Plus areas. Mindanao exhibited consistent increases in cases since the second week of June and currently has the highest number of reported cases,” de Guzman said.
While there are some improvements in the critical care capacity of Visayas and Mindanao areas, she said critical care utilization is still reaching high to critical risk levels, “thus, the need for continuous monitoring and immediate augmentation to prevent further increase in deaths.”
“This is a marathon, not a race. It took mere weeks to reach the new peak in cases but the decline in trend takes months even with strict CQ [community quarantine] classification. Regions have to monitor not just daily data but trends to see if we are doing better or worse. And act fast,” de Guzman said.
In her presentation, de Guzman said there is a slight increase in the two-week growth rate and average daily attack rate (ADAR) seen nationally. She noted that Caraga, Regions 6, 11, 12 are at high risk.
All regions are at low to moderate hospital care utilization rate (HCUR) while Region 11 is at critical risk ICU bed utilization rate (ICUR). Regions 2, 6, 12, and 10 are at high risk ICUR.
As of June 22, de Guzman said that the top regions of new cases are:
1. Region 4A – 684
2. Region 8 – 447
3. NCR – 403
4. Region 6 – 316
5. Region 12 – 297
Top areas of new cases:
1. Laguna – 275
2. Cavite – 256
3. Bohol – 159
4. Isabela – 116
5. Southern Leyte – 113
6. South Cotabato – 113
Nationally, the case trend is showing signs of decline, the DOH official said.
The average daily reported cases in the country are as follows: June 16-22: 5,790; June 9-15: 6,678; June 2-8: 6,480; ; May 26-June 1: 6,692 ; and April 9-15 (peak): 10,845.
For NCR, case trend is exhibiting a slow decline after plateauing. The average daily reported cases are: June 16-22: 685; June 9-15: 825;June 2-8: 949; May 26-June 1: 1,132; and March 29-April 4 (peak): 5,534.
In NCR, the ADAR remains high risk for Pateros, Makati, San Juan, Pasig, Pasay, and Las Piñas. The ICU utilization of Makati is at critical risk, while that of Las Piñas is at high risk.
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