Philippines may flatten COVID-19 curve by September

Earlier this month the number of infections per virus carrier dropped from 1.5 to 1.1 

The members of the interdisciplinary research team of the University of the Philippines stated that by the end of September, the COVID-19 curve in the Philippines may be flattened, which means that new cases of COVID-19 will decrease. As of now, the Philippines has been locked down for several months. 

Dr. Guido David from the University of the Philippines research team said that after a two-week revised version of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila and its surrounding 4 provinces earlier this month, the reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Manila (the number of infections per virus carrier) dropped from 1.5 to 1.1. 

A reproduction rate greater than 1 indicates that the virus is continuing to spread, and if it is lower than 1, it indicates that the virus will eventually disappear. 

Dr. Guido David told the ABS-CBN radio station TeleRadyo: “Now, we have the reason to believe that we can overcome the disease and we hope to be able to do this and at the end of August or September, the curve of the epidemic will be flattened.” 

David also said that, even after flattening the curve of the  epidemic, the number of COVID-19 cases may take another 1-2 months, which is close to Christmas, to reach the ‘extremely controllable’ level. 

‘This does not mean that the curve is flattened and the fight against the epidemic is over… Therefore, we still need to continue to work hard. We cannot ignore it. It may rebound again.’ 

On Sunday, there were 2,378 new cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines, the lowest day of new cases since July 29, bringing the total number of new coronary pneumonia in the country to 189,601, of which 55,236 are existing cases. 

SiGMA Americas:

Following the successful launch of SiGMA Europe (Malta) and SiGMA Asia (Manila), we’re now launching the inaugural SiGMA AMERICAS, covering all three major timezones. The inaugural edition is set for September 22-24, 2020 with a virtual summit focusing on two themes: SiGMA AMERICAS for the Gaming industry and for the Emerging Tech industry. We wanted to provide fresh content, to help you navigate through these turbulent times. If you’re exploring Americas as a new frontier or wondering which tech solutions to embrace, we’ve got you covered: tune in on September 22-24, 2020.