WITH THE dwindling number of Covid-19 cases across the country and a steadying Covid-19 vaccine stock, Filipinos may look forward to a better Christmas season and next year, an OCTA Research fellow said.
Guido David, an OCTA Research fellow and a professor at the University of the Philippines, said the drop in daily cases being logged by the country was the best indicator that the pandemic situation is improving.
“Right now, I’m personally not seeing any major obstacles to going back to the old normal. At least we can do it gradually. We can do it in a safe and calibrated manner so that it doesn’t involve a high level of risk,” David told the Varsitarian.
He said that Covid-19 risk levels were more manageable as of late, noting that cities outside Metro Manila had been averaging lower daily cases.
Metro Manila, which recently de-escalated to Alert Level 2, is averaging about 400 cases a day.
Cebu City has been logging fewer than 15 cases per day, while Davao City is averaging 30 daily cases.
“I think we’re going to have a better Christmas and a better next year. Hopefully, no more of these threats, variants, and outbreaks. Maybe just small outbreaks but nothing that we can’t manage,” David said.
David also reminded Filipinos that relaxed protocols should not lead to complacency.
“Let’s try to still do our part and try to observe safety protocols because the more we help one another, the more this will work,” he said.
Earlier, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año reported that 107,858 health protocol violations were recorded from Oct. 1 to Nov. 6, most of which were Filipinos not wearing face masks.
The Philippines has 29,382 active Covid-19 cases as of Nov. 14.
