There should be no room for complacency even if the “worst is over” in the country as new COVID-19 cases being logged daily continue to decline, an official of the World Health Organization said.
There should be no room for complacency even if the “worst is over” in the country as new coronavirus disease cases being logged daily continue to decline, an official of the World Health Organization said.
WHO Country Representative Dr. Rajendra Yadav said that the Philippines’ current COVID-19 situation is “encouraging.” However, there remains a possibility that cases may rise again. “The decreasing trend of the number of new cases is really very encouraging. We also have seen relatively low number of deaths during the recent Omicron surge and also the national health care utilization rate is quite stable,” he said during a public briefing on Friday, Feb. 11. “So, for now we can say [the] worst is over but that’s only for now because we do not know how long this current favorable situation will last. We need to hope for the best but remain prepared for the worst,” he added. Yadav also raised the possibility that new coronavirus variants may still emerge after the Omicron variant. “We have [a] lot of uncertainties about the future evolution of this pandemic. It is very dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant or that we are in the endgame,” he said. “New variants could emerge and these new variants could evade our countermeasures, may even become fully resistance to the current vaccines which will necessitate vaccine adaptations,” he added. “If other countries have low vaccination coverage and high transmission of the virus, yes, we expect that we could have new variants in the coming weeks or months. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. But let’s be prepared for the worst,” he furthered. Yadav said that the WHO is supporting the Philippines in its plan to shift to the new normal in the near future. “So, every country has a unique situation and must chart its way out of the acute phase of the pandemic with a careful stepwise approach. So it’s really difficult to say and not easy to have answers for all countries. But, yes, WHO continues to support the government in all its approach as long as we take care of the three things,” he said. “One of them is ensuring we have vaccines, oxygen and antiviral for people, especially for the people who need them. Secondly, we have to continue to implement public health and social measures like maintaining physical distance, wearing well-fitting mask, avoiding poor ventilated spaces, cleaning hands, following respiratory hygiene. And thirdly, we have to restore and sustain the essential health services which have been disrupted by COVID-19,” he added.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
PH receives over 400,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccineMANILA, Philippines — The Philippines received on Wednesday 455,130 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to the National Task Force Against COVID-19. The government bought the vaccines through a loan from the World Bank. ADVERTISEMENT Air Hong Kong Flight LD456, which transported the doses, touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at […]
Read more »
DOH logs 3,000 new COVID-19 cases for 2nd straight dayThe Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, reported 3,651 new COVID-19 cases, the second straight day the tally stood at the 3,000 mark.
Read more »
PH receives US donation of 3.4 million Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine dosesOver 3.4 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, donated by the United States, arrived in the country on Thursday. | DFernandezINQ
Read more »
PNP COVID-19 death toll now at 128The death toll due to COVID-19 in the Philippine National Police (PNP) has climbed to 128 on Friday after one more personnel died due to the disease.
Read more »
DOH eyes 70% COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Ilocos region by MarchLAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte – The Department of Health (DOH) targets 70 percent of the 5.3 million eligible population in the Ilocos Region with at least one dose of vaccine against COVID-19 by
Read more »
Pateros’ active COVID-19 cases down to 12The number of active COVID-19 cases in the Municipality of Pateros has further decreased READ:
Read more »