(PNA photo by Robert Alfiler)
MANILA – The daily average of Covid-19 cases per day could increase to 9,000 by the end of September due to the Omicron BA.5 subvariant, an infectious disease expert said Monday.
This, after the Department of Health (DOH) logged 139 new cases of Omicron BA.5 subvariant as of Aug. 26.
“Yes, I fully agree with that kase nakikita nga natin with this BA.5 ang tagal niyang bumaba, so there is a possibility na aakyat na naman ito (Yes, I fully agree with that because we can see with BA.5, the cases are going down slowly, so there is a possibility that they will go up again),” Dr. Rontgene Solante said in a televised public briefing.
DOH data as of Aug. 28 showed 2,318 new cases of Covid-19 were logged nationwide.
Solante described BA.5 as the most evasive subvariant of Omicron which could infect those who are fully vaccinated and had previous infection.
“BA.5 has been with us for four to six weeks now here in the Philippines and it’s the dominant variant globally most countries reporting this from 70 to 75 percent of their positive cases,” he said.
Cases increases brought about by Omicron BA.5 subvariant could be prevented if the eligible population receives their booster shots, he added.
Citing that health utilization rate may also go up with the increase in cases, Solante encouraged senior citizens and individuals with comorbidities to be vaccinated to lower their risk of getting severe and critical diseases and being hospitalized.
“And we also need to increase the access to antiviral agents that will be very important for this population para kung magka-Covid man sila (if they get Covid), they have enough protection,” he added. (PNA)
