Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has called on the local government units (LGUs) to carry out mopping-up operations in all regions in the country to sustain the downward trend of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

In his report to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on government COVID-19 interventions aired on Wednesday, Duque said LGUs must intensify active case finding and adopt a more efficient isolation and quarantine methods of those suspected carrying the virus.

Vaccination coverage must also be widened particularly those considered in vulnerable groups like senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, including adults and children.

“Napakaimportante ng mga gawain na ito lalong-lalo na ngayon nagkakaroon ng higit na mobility ang mga tao,” the health chief said in his report.

The number of cases has been declining as evidenced by the eight percent positivity rate as of October 30, according to Duque. And as cases decline, there is also a drop in the demand for testing, as well as the daily RT-PCR testing output, which currently at 48,928 tests a day.

Also, no region in the country is at high risk as a result of improving case trends.

“Ang buong bansa ay kasalukuyang nasa low risk, iyong pinakauna po rito makikita natin, at patuloy na bumaba ang national two-week growth rate or TWGR at ang ating average daily attack rate per 100,000 or ADAR,” he explained.

Globally, the country’s ranking also improved, Duque said.

Citing a November 1 World Rankings based on the World Health Organization Dashboard, he reported that the Philippines is now at 40th place in the global ranking in terms of active cases while fourth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In terms of COVID-19 cases per million population, the country ranks 134th among nations globally and at the fifth place in the ASEAN.

The country’s fatality rate has also improved, placing 106th globally and fifth in the ASEAN.  PND