Over 50% of COVID-19 cases from workforce: DOH

More than half of the total number of COVID-19 in the country are from the workforce, based on data from the Department of Health (DOH), which shows that 515,993 of the total more than 800,000 cases are aged 20 to 49 years.

“Most of them are workers who go out every day and go home to their loved ones after,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

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Despite this, most of those who die from the virus are in their 50s and older.

In data on Tuesday, of the 382 deaths, 312 were 50 upwards.

The OCTA Research Group’s monitoring shows that the number of reproduction continues to decline.

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In the National Capital Region, the reproduction number is 1.43 while it is 1.45 for the whole Philippines.

Earlier, the group said that not only is the reproduction number decreasing, the number of cases is also decreasing, but the spread of the disease is slowing down.

Over 50% of COVID-19 cases from workforce: DOH

Even the Department of Health says one should be careful in understanding the reproduction number.

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“Sana hindi ma-interpret ng ating mga kababayan that we are already having this decline in the number of cases. We have to remember that our number of cases also are reliant on the submission of our labs, and we have mentioned to you already that some of our laboratories did not operate last week,” said the DOH official.

According to ABS-CBN Data Analytics head Edson Guido, the visible number due to low testing may not fully reflect the true number in the communities.

“Every time na mababa ‘yong testing natin, we have to be cautious in interpreting the numbers dahil nandoon talaga ‘yong possibility na mas mababa rin ‘yong positive cases na makukuha natin ‘pag mas mababa ‘yong test. So it might not be reflective of what’s really happening on the ground,” said Guido.

Despite this, the DOH said they will continue to increase the country’s testing capacity.

In addition to the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal RT-PCR test and antigen test, the saliva RT-PCR test is also included in those that can be performed in laboratories as long as the performer is trained by certified performers.