Suspend mass gatherings, go back to working from home, Duque urges public

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MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has pleaded to the public to refrain from attending mass gatherings as these may contribute to more COVID-19 transmissions amid a recent, sharp increase in cases.

Offices must again adopt alternative arrangements, like having employees work from home again to limit interactions, Duque said during the weekly taped briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte that aired late Tuesday night.

This is because the Department of Health (DOH) has observed a quick spike in COVID-19 cases brought about by greater public mobility during the holiday season.

“We have witnessed this past holiday season how fast, how rapid the rise has been of COVID-19 because of social gatherings. And because of high social mobility, the interaction between people there was rise. And because of the continued rise in cases these past days, we are calling for a suspension of all mass gatherings,” Duque said in Filipino.

He urged Black Nazarene devotees to just mark the annual religious feast, which takes place on Jan. 9, at home.

As of this writing, the government has approved the suspension of the Traslacion — the procession of the Black Nazarene from the Quirino Grandstand back to its home in Quiapo Church. The event typically has thousands of participants.

Whenever possible, meetings should be held online, Duque added.

Finally, Duque urged people to either get vaccinated or get booster shots.

“Bagamat mas nakaka-hawa ang Omicron variant, ipinakita ng mga pag-aaral na nanatiling epektibong panangga ang ating kasalukuyang bakuna laban sa nasabing (sakit),” he said.

“Kaya naman hinihikayat namin ang lahat na magpabakuna upang maprotektahan ang inyong mga sarili at mga kasama sa bahay,” he added.

The country is currently recording a sudden uptick in COVID-19 cases, forcing the national government to put Metro Manila under Alert Level 3 from Jan. 3 to 15.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health recorded 5,434 new infections, bringing the COVID-19 cases nationwide to 29,809.

In contrast, before the holidays there was a relatively low number of daily cases — ranging from 300 to 500 with the active case count at below 10,000.

Some experts believe that the quick rise in infections might have been caused by the Omicron variant, which is believed to be more infectious than the Delta variant that led to the surge in cases from August to September 2021.

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