MANILA, Philippines — It will take about two weeks to see the effects of election-related activities on COVID-19 cases in the country, the Department of Health said Tuesday.
In a briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said health protocols were enforced properly in some polling centers. But poor adherence to public health safety safeguards, such as physical distancing rules, was also observed in other voting centers.
Around 67 million people registered to cast their ballot on Monday’s election day that saw long lines and packed polling places.
“Nevertheless, we are closely monitoring the situation,” Vergeire said.
“As long as people are wearing their masks properly, there is adequate ventilation in classrooms, and syempre dapat bakunado ang ating kababayan. Sana ‘yung mga bumoto kahapon ay bakunado ating mami-mitigate ‘yung risks na naidudulot nitong possibility na baka tumaas ang ating kaso,” she added.
(As long as people are wearing their masks properly, there is adequate ventilation in classrooms, and of course, our fellow Filipinos must be vaccinated. I am hoping that those who voted yesterday were immunized against COVID-19 to mitigate the risks that may be caused by a possible increase in cases.)
The DOH said there could be a surge in cases by the end of May if compliance with public health safeguards decline by 30% to 50%.
Over 68.4 million Filipinos have completed vaccination against COVID-19. Of the figure, only 13.4 million got booster shots.
From May 2 to May 8, the Philippines recorded 1,124 additional cases and verified 42 deaths.
The country is currently under minimal risk classification despite a “slight increase in cases,” Vergeire said.