Rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination drive at the Sta. Ana Hospital. Image from the Facebook of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday cautioned the public against complacency despite the ongoing vaccine rollout amid the rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases.
In her weekly radio show, Robredo sounded the alarm over the more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases being recorded by health officials.
“Ang problema, sa tagal kasi ng lockdown, ang iba talagang inip na. Iyong iba naman, dahil medyo bumaba iyong mga kaso—‘di ba may mga araw na 1,000-plus na lang—medyo nagkampante na,” Robredo said.
(The problem is, some are getting bored because of the length of this lockdown. There are also others who have become complacent because we only recorded more than 1,000 cases in some days.)
“Kaya iyong sa atin lang, sana hindi maging kampante, kahit po may bakuna na. Kahit po may bakuna na, dahil hindi pa naman malawakan iyong rollout, huwag tayong parang mag-relax ng… huwag tayong mag-relax ng ating mga health protocols,” she added.
(Let us not be complacent even though we now have the vaccine. Even if we have it, the rollout is not yet massive. Let us not relax on observing the health protocols.)
On Saturday, the Philippines recorded 3,439 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to over 591,000.
The Department of Health said it had been receiving reports of an increase in COVID-19 admissions at various hospitals.
The rise in coronavirus cases comes as the Philippines started its COVID-19 vaccination program last week.