The Department of Health on Thursday warned the public that daily Covid-19 infections may reach as high as 18,000 by November or December, following the government's decision to make the wearing of masks in indoor spaces optional.
"Once we loosened up the masking [mandate], we can have cases toward November and December from 2,500 to a higher limit of 18,000," Department of Health Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a television interview.
However, Vergeire clarified that Covid-19 cases are expected to increase not only because of the further relaxation of the masking policy.
"People have to understand that the virus is here, expectedly the virus will rise not just because of the removal masks but because there are subvariants and new subvariants that have been here in the country which has evaded our immunity," she said.
Vergeire also pointed out the increased mobility of the public as another factor for the potential increase in the number of daily cases.
"So expectedly cases are there, it is going to increase, but what we need to prepare for is our healthcare system capacity," she said.
The official expressed confidence that the country's healthcare system would be able to address the expected increase in cases.
"As I've said, even through this recent increase in cases, we were able to accommodate it," she said.
On Tuesday, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco announced that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. would issue an executive order making the wearing of masks in indoor areas voluntary.
Vergeire said the Health department initially recommended to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases that the government must first have a pilot implementation of the optional wearing of masks in indoor settings in November. However, other sectors insisted that the move be immediately implemented nationwide.
"At first, it was discussed in the IAFT. The DoH was able to discuss the different potential scenarios regarding mask mandates but since it is a collegial body, we respect the decision of the body regarding voluntary mask-wearing," she said.
The Health official reminded the public to assess the risk before deciding whether to remove their masks, especially in indoor spaces.
"Our only reminder for the public — this all boils down to an individual's informed decision. We all have to know our risks so that we can be able to decide if we will remove our mask in certain situations," she said.