'We are on track,' Palace says even as Philippines reports record-high COVID cases

Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="People wait outside the Pasay City General Hospital on Aug. 21, 2021. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/08/24/20210821-covid-pasay-city-general-hospital-gc-6981.jpg"/><figcaption>People wait outside the Pasay City General Hospital on Aug. 21, 2021. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Malacañang said on Tuesday the Philippines is &quot;on track&quot; in its battle against the COVID-19 crisis, despite recording its highest ever daily tally of infections and the possible <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/21/21/delta-variant-community-transmission-is-there-doh">community transmission</a> of the highly contagious Delta variant in Metro Manila. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/21/community-transmission-ng-delta-variant-nakikita-sa-ncr-calabarzon">Community transmission ng Delta variant nakikita sa NCR, Calabarzon: DOH</a></li></ul><p>The Department of Health on Monday reported a record <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/21/philippines-logs-record-high-18332-new-covid-19-cases">18,332</a> COVID-19 infections, just days after the Aug. 6-20 lockdown of the capital region. Of those, 4,805 are in Metro Manila.</p><p>The enhanced community quarantine of Metro Manila was projected to keep cases below 20,000, said Palace spokesman Harry Roque. </p><p>&quot;We are within projection, for as long as we do not exceed 20,000 [new cases] per day. That is the projection,&quot; he said in a press briefing. &quot;Kung ang iniisip n&#x27;yo iyong ECQ will result in a drastic reduce in cases, hindi po &#x27;yan ang projection.&quot; </p><p>(If you are thinking that ECQ will result in a drastic reduction in cases, that is not the projection.) </p><p>&quot;I would say we are on track,&quot; added the official.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/24/21/active-covid-19-cases-in-ncr-may-hit-60000-in-sept">Active COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila may hit 60,000 in September - OCTA</a></li></ul><p>Large numbers of Delta variant cases for which the source could not be traced had been detected in the capital region and nearby provinces, the health department said in a statement on Monday. </p><p>Authorities have for several weeks attributed the current rise in cases to the Delta variant, but genome sequencing capacity in the Philippines is limited, with only a few thousand samples processed weekly.</p><p>On Monday, the country&#x27;s genome center said it had detected an additional 466 Delta variant cases, bringing the number of people confirmed to be carrying the variant to 1,273.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/24/21/466-more-delta-variant-cases-detected-in-philippines">PH detects 466 more Delta variant cases; total now at 1,273</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Unlike iyong naunang variant po, talaga namang nakakahawa itong variant na ito,&quot; Roque said of the Delta variant. &quot;Hindi naman tayo pupuwedeng mag-total lockdown na naman dahil kinakailangan naman makapagtrabaho nang hindi magutom ang karamihan ng ating mga kababayan.&quot; </p><p>(Unlike the earlier variant, Delta is more contagious. We cannot go on another total lockdown because most of our compatriots need to work so they would not starve.)</p><p>&quot;But we are on track by way of our projections,&quot; he reiterated.</p><p>Roque acknowledged that the health care capacity has reached the high-risk category, both nationally and within Metro Manila, at 73 and 72 percent, respectively. </p><p>But he said less than 2 percent of COVID-19 sufferers need to be hospitalized. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/08/23/21/98-pct-of-covid-cases-mild-moderate-asymptomatic">READ: 98 pct of COVID cases mild, moderate, asymptomatic: Health USec</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Hindi pa po tayo critical. Kaya pa nating alagaan yong mga magkakasakit. That is what we mean by living with the virus,&quot; he added. </p><p>(We are not yet critical. We can still take care of those who get sick.) </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/24/21/philippines-new-covid-19-cases-to-keep-rising-doh">Philippines&#x27; new COVID-19 cases to keep rising: DOH</a></li></ul><p>The Philippines has recorded a total of 1.86 million COVID-19 cases, a fifth of which were detected over the last 40 days. Nearly 32,000 people in the Philippines have died with COVID-19, according to official data.</p><p>The number of active cases in the country increased to a 4-month high of 130,350, the DOH added. Of those recently tested, 1 in 4 tested positive, it said. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/24/21/philippines-new-covid-19-cases-to-keep-rising-doh">Philippines&#x27; new COVID-19 cases to keep rising: DOH</a></li></ul><div><strong>— With a report from Reuters </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1754884" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar"><em>Video courtesy of RTVM</em></div><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="_/XwlOyN6W2yUc4AnE9xPq" data-title="COVID-19 cases - 1" data-type="interactive"> </div><script type="text/javascript">!function(e,i,n,s){var t='InfogramEmbeds',d=e.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement('script');o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src='https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js',d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,'infogram-async');</script>

Malacañang said the Philippines is 'on track' in its battle against the COVID-19 crisis despite logging record infections. 

'We are on track,' Palace says even as Philippines reports record-high COVID cases | ABS-CBN

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'We are on track,' Palace says even as Philippines reports record-high COVID cases

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 24, 2021 03:08 PM PHT

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