Decrease in ‘fresh cases’ shows PH can now control COVID-19 spread – DOH

MANILA, Philippines — A decrease in ‘fresh cases’ shows that the Philippines has gained control of the COVID-19 spread, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday.

The DOH said the doubling time and mortality rate of COVID-19 have gone down.

“As we have seen, the trend in the number of fresh cases reported per day is low. Other important indicators such as slowing of our case doubling time and lessening of mortality rate show that we are able to control the outbreak,” the DOH said in a statement.

According to the DOH, there is also a “low critical care utilization rate” in hospitals of intensive care unit beds and mechanical ventilators. This indicates that the Philippines has adequate health system capacity as most areas move into general community quarantine (GCQ).

The DOH said, however, that it would continue to monitor and analyze data for any increase in the number of COVID-19 cases during the shift to GCQ.

Earlier, in an online press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there was a decrease in the trend of fresh cases of COVID-19 in the country.

This was after the DOH recorded 46 fresh cases on Friday, May 29, which was a decrease from the previous day’s 109 fresh cases.

According to Vergeire, there was also a decrease in deaths due to COVID-19, which indicates that the pandemic is nearing its peak.

“The deaths that we validated — the cases of deaths based on date of death and not the date of reporting — are already decreasing. The continued decrease in deaths, based on studies, is a good sign that epidemic is already nearing its peak,” she said in Filipino. /atm