PNP to public: Strictly obey health protocols amid rise of COVID Lambda strain

PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar gets vaccinated with the first dose of China’s Sinovac BioNTech (Photo from Philippine National Police-PIO)

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the threat of the COVID-19 Lambda variant, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Tuesday urged the public to cooperate with the government in strictly following health safety protocols.

In a statement, Eleazar reminded the public to continue wearing face masks, face shields, and maintaining social distance, saying these practices are proven ways to protect themselves against different variants of the coronavirus.

“The cooperation of our kababayan [countrymen] in the implementation of the minimum public health safety protocol is itself a strong first line of defense against the spread of the virus, no matter what variant it is,” Eleazar said.

“Pabagsik ng pabagsik ang variant ng COVID-19 sa mga nakalipas na buwan kaya patuloy tayong nagpapa-alala sa ating mga kababayan at nakikiusap na patuloy nating pangalagaan ang ating kaligtasan,” he added.

(COVID-19 variants are becoming fiercer in the past months which is why we continue to remind and beg our countrymen to continue to take care of our safety.)

The COVID-19 Lambda variant was first found in Peru and has been detected in more than 30 countries in the past four weeks, according to the Health Ministry of Malaysia.

The World Health Organization, however, said that the strain remains to be a “variant of interest” despite being feared by experts to be “more infectious” than the Delta variant.

Eleazar also urged the public to put their trust in vaccines approved by experts saying that, “getting vaccinated will protect not only yourself but also your family and loved ones.”

“Para naman sa mga kababayan nating patuloy pang nagdududa sa bakuna, hinihikayat natin sila na magpabakuna na kung available na din naman ito dahil hindi lang ang inyong kaligtasan ang nakasalalay dito pati na rin ang inyong pamilya at ang ninanais nating normalization sa ating bansa,” Eleazar said.

(For our countrymen that continue to doubt vaccines, we urge them to be vaccinated since it is available and because it is not only your health that is at stake but also your family that wants normalization for our country.)

The Department of Health reported 1,441,746 total COVID-19 cases with 51,594 active cases, 25,192 deaths, and 1,364,960 recoveries as of July 5. Faith Yuen Wei Ragasa, Inquirer trainee

RELATED STORIES:

Duque urges strict border control to prevent entry of Lambda variant

JPV