Scientist: Manila COVID-19 cases could hit 250,000 if lockdown not extended

A Filipino scientist believes that the Metro Manila-wide lockdown should be extended for 2-3 more months in order to flatten the coronavirus (COVID-19) curve.

Dr. Darwin Bandoy of the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) told ABS-CBN’S ANC channel that an extended community quarantine would help in lowering the number of cases in the country.

An Assistant Professor at UC Davis, Bandoy noted that cases might even reach 250,000 if the Philippine government lifts the lockdown by mid-April 2020.

This is according to Bandoy’s estimates.

“If we remove the enhanced community quarantine on April 13 and will resume to normal activity at April 14, the epidemic curve would rise again. So, based on these predictive models, I wouldn’t recommend removing it so it should be extended…”

The scientist also noted that the country should continue its strict precautionary measures, such as social distancing and ban of mass gatherings, and also recommended to do mass testing.

As of April 2, 2020, there are already 2,633 cases in the Philippines, with 107 deaths and 51 recoveries.