Manila Fears ‘Massive And Uncontrolled’ Spread Of Omicron; 1 In 2 Test Positive

Health experts in the Philippines’ capital city are now raising concern about a possible “uncontrolled” spread of COVID-19 as Manila’s coronavirus positivity rate exceeds 50%.

Dr. Rontgene Solante, a member of the Philippines’ vaccine expert panel and the head of the adult infectious diseases and tropical medicine unit at San Lazaro Hospital, said the spike in COVID-19 infections in epicenter Metro Manila could indicate a “massive and uncontrolled community transmission.”

“[The surge in cases is] an indication of how transmissible the virus is, three to fives times vs. Delta, high secondary attack and high household transmission,” Solante said in a text message to Rappler.

The latest findings from Octa Research showed that the positivity rate in the capital region reached 52% Monday, a slight increase from the 50.5% positivity rate logged Jan. 7. This means one in two people are testing positive for COVID-19.

“This is really high. At this level, our testing is having a difficult time. It’s being strained and we’re starting to lose visibility of the pandemic situation,” Octa fellow Dr. Guido David told Unang Balita, as translated by GMA News.

David, however, said he hopes the positivity rate will not reach 60%, warning that the Philippines would lose visibility if it does.

This comes as health officials in the Philippines on Monday logged 33,169 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the country’s toll to 2,998,530. At least 157,526 cases are currently active.

The Philippines has so far detected 43 cases of the Omicron variant. However, experts believe the actual number could be higher, noting that the Philippine Genome Center can only sequence a small percentage of COVID-19 infections.

The latest genome sequencing showed that 60.41% of 48 samples were positive for the Omicron variant. At least 19 of those cases were from Metro Manila.

Despite the rising number of infections, the capital region’s local chief executives said they would not place Manila to a stricter Alert Level 4.

The capital is currently under Alert Level 3, which allows businesses, including cinemas and movie houses, to operate but at a reduced capacity. However, venues such as funfairs, casinos, karaoke bars and concert halls are not allowed to operate.