TOO EARLY TO TELL, SAYS DUQUE

Published February 17, 2022 10:52am

The rise in COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) "feels like a Valentine spike," according to independent monitoring group OCTA Research.

In a tweet on Wednesday, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said 632 new cases were recorded in NCR for the day. He said the figure "is above the Jan 24 projections."

"With mostly fresh cases, this feels like a Valentine spike," David said.

Based on government data, NCR has the most number of fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, followed by Iloilo with 169, Cebu with 131, Cavite with 112 and Batangas with 72.

Too early to tell

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, however, said it is still too early to say if the increase was due to Valentine's Day activities.

"Medyo maaga-aga pa para sabihin na dahil nagkaroon ng superspreader event nung Valentines kaya kahapon eh biglang tumaas. Hindi pa maliwanag 'yan," he said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

Duque said it would take a week or two to determine if Valentine's Day caused a spike in COVID-19 cases.

The Philippines recorded 2,671 additional cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the country's total tally to 3,644,597.

The new infections brought the active cases to 68,829, of which 1,130 are asymptomatic; 63,037 are mild; 1,433 are severe; and 309 are in critical condition.

This is the lowest number of active cases since January 6, 2022.--KBK, GMA News