Artificial COVID-19 surge 2 days before election fake news – DOH

On Saturday, the Department of Health said reports that the DOH would declare a false increase in COVID-19 cases two days before Eleksyon 2022 “for partisan use against any candidate at any level” is fake news.

“The Department of Health categorically denies unfounded rumors that it will report an artificial increase in COVID-19 cases close to election day for partisan use against any candidate at any level,” the DOH said.

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Due to the public’s compliance with minimum public health requirements, the country still has “low COVID-19 case trends,” according to the government.

“Our high vaccination coverage for the primary series and very good compliance to minimum public health standards (MPHS) have resulted in low COVID-19 case trends with an average of 195 cases daily in the past week and an overall national positivity rate of 1.2%,” the health department said.

The Department of Health recorded 184 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, increasing the total number of cases in the country to 3,685,403.

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According to the latest data from the Department of Health, active illnesses decreased from 9,585 on Thursday to 8,389 on Friday.

DOH “also uses other metrics such as healthcare utilization to evaluate and recommend to higher authorities whether an escalation or de-escalation of Alert Levels is warranted.”

Artificial COVID-19 surge 2 days before election fake news – DOH

The health department then issued a public health advisory to assist prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is called BIDA or wearing the “B-est-fitted mask, I-solate when sick, D-ouble up protection with vaccination and boosters, and ensuring good A-airflow.”

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Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Saturday that there is no evidence that a lockdown will be implemented after Eleksyon 2022 due to increased COVID-19 cases.

“Sa ngayon, walang indikasyon na magkakaroon ng lockdown matapos ang eleksyon,” Duque said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

According to Duque, there will only be granular lockdowns, not nationwide lockdowns.

“Kung magkakaroon man, granular lockdown na lamang. Tapos na tayo sa mga widespread lockdown,” he said.

According to the report, a 50% drop in compliance with minimum public health requirements in Metro Manila by mid-May could result in 25,000 to 60,000 new COVID-19 cases every day.

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