MANILA, Philippines — The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Friday that Christmas celebrations could turn to tears if people fail to keep up their guard against COVID-19 during the festive season.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the number of deaths in the coronavirus pandemic was surging and urged people to think very carefully about their holiday season plans.
“The festive season is a time to relax and celebrate but... celebration can very quickly turn to sadness if we fail to take the right precautions,” he told a news conference.
“As you prepare to celebrate over the coming weeks, please, please consider your plans carefully. If you live in an area with high transmission, please take every precaution to keep yourselves and others safe.
“That could be the best gift you could give – the gift of health.”
Tedros said there had been a 60 percent increase worldwide in deaths from the respiratory disease over the past six weeks.
However, some continents are witnessing bigger death toll surges than others, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19.
She said there had been nearly a 100 percent increase in the number of deaths per week in the WHO’s Europe region over the past six weeks, a 54 percent increase in the Americas and 50 percent in Africa.
“This virus is still circulating. Most of the world remains at risk,” she said.
Meanwhile Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies director, said the virus was yet to settle down into a predictable pattern.
“The situation globally is still very epidemiologically unstable,” he said.
After Britain this week started rolling out public vaccinations against the new coronavirus, Tedros said the production of safe and effective jabs against a disease that was completely unknown a year ago was an “astounding scientific achievement.”
He said that almost one billion doses of three vaccine candidates had been secured as part of the COVAX facility.
The WHO-led scheme for pooling risk and reward among countries rich and poor is a global attempt to speed up the development of COVID-19 vaccines, and purchase and distribute them evenly regardless of wealth.
Some 189 countries and economies are on board with the scheme, which aims to secure vaccines for 20 percent of the population in each country by the end of next year.
“Further deals will be announced in the near future,” he said.
Looking forward to 2021, WHO senior advisor Bruce Aylward said there was light at the end of the “long tunnel.”
“There is no reason for us to see the same epidemic next year because we know how to beat this disease,” he said.
Philippine experts are seeing a continuing increase in the number COVID-19 cases in different parts of the country.
University of the Philippines (UP) professor and OCTA Research Group member Ranjit Rye yesterday said there are certain days in the past week when the COVID-19 reproduction number in the country reached the critical level of 1.
But in an interview with The STAR, he clarified that these are just initial observations of the daily cases and that the official report showing the seven-day average of the reproduction number will be released on Tuesday.
The reproduction number indicates the number of persons a positive individual can infect. A higher number means that more people are getting infected with the virus.
In its report last Tuesday, OCTA said the country has a seven-day average reproduction number of 0.91 from the period of Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, still below what they described as the critical level of 1.
In an interview with dzBB on Saturday, Rye said the rise in cases may be due to overcrowding in public places, lax implementation of health protocols and pandemic fatigue resulting in people not following safety measures.
“That means that it is now spreading faster. We have observed it for two days,” Rye said in Filipino, referring to the higher reproduction number that they have observed.
“Our goal is not to cause alarm, but to caution us that what we do now as individuals and citizens is more important in the next two weeks than any intervention government does in dealing with COVID-19,” he added.
UP professor Guido David, another member of OCTA, also said yesterday the reproduction number in Metro Manila has increased to 0.96 as of Dec. 10, up from the previous weeks.
Unlike in the past, Rye said they have monitored increase in cases not just in Metro Manila but in different parts of the country.
In its report released last Tuesday, the OCTA identified eight “provinces of concern” that recorded significant number of COVID-19 cases in the first week of December. These include Davao Del Sur, Benguet, Isabela, Bataan, Leyte, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan and Cagayan.
It also identified seven “moderate risk areas” that experienced an increase in new cases, including Quezon City, Pateros and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila, Tuguegarao in Cagayan, San Pablo in Laguna, La Trinidad in Benguet and Balanga in Bataan.
Meanwhile, still identified as high-risk local government units were Makati, Davao City, Baguio and Mankayan in Benguet.
The group said the number of new cases may further increase in the following weeks due to overcrowding in public places and other activities related to the holiday season.
Rye said the goal is to prevent an uncontrolled surge that would overwhelm the hospitals like in the past.
“We can still prevent it. It is rising but not too fast. Hopefully in the next few days, we will listen and become more sensible,” he added.
The expert urged the public to continue following health protocols such as social distancing and wearing of masks and face shields. He also advised the public to avoid crowded and closed spaces, as well as social gatherings of people from different households. “Let’s enjoy Christmas, but let’s do it safety,” he said. – Janvic Mateo