The peak of COVID-19 cases may be ''towards the end of January or even as late as second week of February'', Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Friday.

In a virtual Palace briefing, Vergeire said this was the assessment of experts during the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) meeting Thursday.

''The peak of these (COVID-19) cases, as we have been saying, it is not going to happen soon. In projections done by our experts, it is going to happen towards the end of January or even as late as second week of February,'' she said.

''Cases will continue increasing that is why everyone must be careful,'' added Vergeire.

Vergeire urged everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 so these projections of higher cases may not be attained.

Record high COVID-19 case of 34, 021 was set on Thursday as the positivity rate went up to 47.9 percent.

Earlier, OCTA Research said NCR cases may be approaching the peak after the reproduction number went down to 3.77 from 4.69.

Vergeire said the DOH has been noticing an increase in COVID-19 cases in other areas, just like in a previous surge. She said the DOH is watching this closely and called on people to follow the minimum health protocols. DMS