DoH hoping for lifted public health emergency
Vergeire said the Health department monitored a slight increase in the number of cases, however, she noted that it is still ‘manageable’
Daily TribuneVergeire said the Health department monitored a slight increase in the number of cases, however, she noted that it is still ‘manageable’
The Department of Health on Monday expressed its optimism that Covid-19 and monkeypox will no longer be global health emergencies by next year.
In a radio interview, Health Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said she is "very hopeful" that the World Health Organization will eventually lift its declaration on the two illnesses.
"We are very hopeful because WHO gave this declaration. However, the public also needs to understand that we still need to be very cautious because as the WHO said, we still have to see that critical cases and deaths due to Covid-19 continue to decrease," Vergeire said.
She issued the remarks after WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Covid-19 infections are declining globally — a good sign that the emergency declared more than two years ago could be lifted soon.
"We're hopeful that at some point next year, we will be able to say that Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency," Ghebreyesus said.
Locally, Vergeire said the Health department monitored a slight increase in the number of cases, however, she noted that it is still "manageable."
"We still need to be reminded that the trend showed a slight increase but we cannot say that it is at the critical level," said Vergeire. "What is important is that the critical cases are not that high and the hospital admissions are still manageable."
However, Vergeire admitted that the Health department is having difficulty in monitoring the exact number of cases as many people opt to use self-administered antigen test kits.
"It is really challenging because many of our fellow Filipinos are now using antigen," said the DoH official. "Many people also no longer consult doctors as they are just doing self-isolation."
Based on the latest Covid-19 bulletin, the country recorded a total of 1,306 new infections, bringing the total caseload to 4,054,159.
