After achieving the lowest recorded cases in the past two months on September 7, 2020, the strategies implemented to flatten the curve may be working. Last Monday’s 1,383 single-day diagnosed cases statistic is significantly lesser than the previous record held last September 3 with 1,987 cases.
Promising Transmission Rate
Another metric recently indicating positive outlook is our country’s transmission rate. The transmission rate is the number of people one confirmed case can infect. A lower number means slower and more easily managed viral spread in our population.
During the virtual conference last Monday, Undersecretary Vergeire announced that our country currently has a transmission rate of 0.977. She further emphasized that “it is less than one already. The WHO and other reputable organizations said that when your transmission rate is less than one, you’re already in the right direction.”
There are other significant reasons for optimism, particularly for Metro Manila, our country’s virus epicenter. The positivity rate of the the COVID-19 tests in Metro Manila is steadily decreasing. The bed space occupied by COVID-19 cases in NCR hospitals are now in 63.4%, a stark improvement to last mid-July’s 76% occupancy. These are all indicative, as Undersecretary Vergeire observed, that “our strategies are working. Although it is not immediate, we are seeing the changes and we were able to somehow de-congest hospitals.”
Avoiding Complacency
Guido David of Octa Research Group of the University of the Philippines, however, warned against becoming complacent. In his recent interview with Rappler, he stressed that “it doesn’t mean that we don’t have any more cases. The virus is still here, the pandemic is still here. It just means that the number of cases is decreasing.” The flattening of the curve is notably more evident in Metro Manila than the rest of the country. The positive cases in Bacolod City, Iloilo City, Iligan City, Davao del Sur, Leyte, and Zamboanga City cases continue to rise at alarming rates.
The focus now must be maintaining our momentum. The transmission rate, as David clarified, is not irreversible. It can still bounce back up. “We have to sustain this downward trend so that we don’t waste the gains we made during MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) and now under GCQ (general community quarantine),” he added.
As our government continues their efforts towards COVID-19 disease management, it is now more crucial than ever to trace and isolate every positive case in our population. MEDTEK hopes to support our healthcare providers’ efforts to flatten the curve by offering our Innovita 2019-nCoV Ab Test (Colloidal Gold). The reliability of our FDA-approve rapid antibody test kit is capable of effectively aiding the monitoring of COVID-19 spread in our local communities. For accredited testing organizations interested in purchasing our test kit, please feel free to fill out the form below.
