US CDC: Ph now at 'high' travel risk for COVID-19

Metro Manila, August 16 ------ The Philippines is now classified by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) as "high risk" for COVID-19 due to a spike in new infections.

The Philippines was placed on Level 3 or high level of COVID-19 today. The designation applies to places that had more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. The US CDC recommends avoiding travel to the Philippines if the person is not up to date with their vaccination. Level 3 became the top rung in terms of risk level in April after the US CDC overhauled its ratings system for assessing COVID-19 risk for travelers. Level 4 is now reserved for "special circumstances," including extremely high case counts or collapse of healthcare system.

The Department of Health said the country records almost 4,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, noting a continuous increase in new infections on a national scale. DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said daily reported infections averaged 3,993 from Aug. 3-9, 12% more than the average of the previous week. Despite the steady growth in new cases, the DOH said the Philippines remains at low risk for COVID-19 considering the two-week growth rate, average daily attack rate, and hospital utilization rate.

Source: cnnphilippines.com