Over the past week, there has been an increase in the numbers of people testing positive for COVID-19. On March 9, the country’s COVID-19 case count breached the 600,000 mark, with Octa Research fellow Dr. Guido David saying that COVID-19 cases in virus epicenter Metro Manila are climbing faster than expected and reports from hospitals showing an increase in admissions.
What do these increases in case numbers mean and why are they happening now? And with these increases happening while vaccination programs are being rolled out in hospitals and health workers getting their shots, are frontliners safer now that there is a vaccine? How is the vaccination program doing in the face of the case number increases?
The 44th installment of the University of the Philippines’ (UP) “Stop COVID Deaths” webinar series is a National Virtual Town Hall Meeting for Hospitals. The webinar, titled “IS THERE A SURGE? May COVID-19 Vaccine Na, May Maiiba Ba?”, will take a closer look at the increasing number of cases and how hospitals are coping. It will be held on Friday, March 12, 2021, at 12 noon.
The main presentation will be given by Dr. Gerardo “Gap” Legaspi, Director of the UP Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). Reactors include Dr. Vincent Balanag, Executive Director of the Philippine Lung Center; Dr. Fritz Famaran, Chief of Hospital of the Jose Rodriguez Hospital; and Dr. Nina Berba, infectious disease specialist from the UP College of Medicine and PGH. Opening remarks will be delivered by Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, UP System Executive Vice President and Special Adviser of the National Task Force on COVID-19, while the closing remarks will be given by Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla, Chancellor of UP Manila.
Register for this special edition of the UP Stop COVID Deaths webinar series here: bit.ly/StopCOVIDDeathsWebinar44
