UP Expert: PH has Flattened COVID-19 Curve, but is Not Reason to be Complacent
Dr. Guido David, an expert from the University of the Philippines (UP)-OCTA Research team has revealed a piece of good news on Sunday, September 6, 2020, amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Through an interview conducted by a radio station, David said that the reproduction number of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country, on average, has already decreased and that the curve in NCR and CALABARZON has also already flattened.
“What we do is tinitignan natin yung reproduction number for the Philippines and for NCR and the different locations. So ngayon less than one (1) ‘yong reproduction number, pero I have to clarify that statement kasi I noticed may mga nagsasabi bat may mga hot spots pa,” Dr. David explained.
“‘Yong average natin sa whole Philippines is flattened na. Pero specifically sa NCR and CALABARZON flattened na sya. ‘Yong reproduction number sa NCR is point ninety five (.95), so bumababa sya. So less than one (1) na sya.”
“It means pababa na yung bilang ng cases. Pero, yes may mga hot spots pa like Bacolod City and some other places na nagkakaroon ng increase in transmission,” he added. Thus, he made mention that the community transmission in the entire country is uneven.
The UP expert also explained how the Philippines, on average, already has a reproduction number which is less than one percent.”…’yong buong bansa kasi ‘yong trend nya sumusunod lang naman sa trend ng NCR at CALABARZON kasi nandoon ‘yong pinakamaraming cases. Fifty five percent (55%) at least ng cases nasa NCR so ngayon nag flaflatten na yung curve sa NCR kaya sumusunod din yung number sa buong Philippines…”
What Does Flattening of the COVID-19 Curve Mean?
David also made some more clarifications addressed to those who might have misunderstood what the flattening of the COVID-19 curve really means. According to him, flattening of the curve does not mean that there are no longer COVID-19 cases.
“Hindi ibig sabihin flattened yung curve wala nang COVID cases. Mayroon pa. ‘Pag wala nang COVID cases tapos na yung pandemic, hindi flattened ‘yong curve – tapos na ‘yong pandemic pag zero cases na.”
So what really happens when the curve flattens? There will be a decrease in cases, as further explained by the UP expert. “Ang nang yayari pag flattened yung curve, nagde-decrease yung cases natin. Pababa na yung bilang ng mga bagong kaso.”
Not the Time to be Complacent
Now that the country is already flattening the curve, what we have to do next is to sustain the trend. David advised that we should keep doing what we have done for the past few weeks for the next two months in order to be able to keep flattening the COVID-19 curve.
The COVID-19 curve or the cases may still increase at any time so we should not let our guard down. It’s definitely not the time to be complacent.
For More News and Updates
See more news and updates. Frequently visit our Baguio City Guide website and like and follow our official Baguio City Guide Facebook page to catch more of our latest content.
SOURCE
How do you feel about this?
