MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was able to overcome the highly contagious Omicron threat of COVID-19, allowing some areas, including Metro Manila, to return to a “new normal” starting March 1,
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the national vaccine manager, made the announcement on Monday during the weekly taped “Talk to the People” briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte,
“Finally, we have gone through the hard trial brought by Omicron,” Galvez said in Filipino.
He noted that Metro Manila and 38 other areas would “begin the roadmap” to the new normal starting March 1, exactly a year after the Philippines started its COVID-19 vaccination program.
He reminded the public, however, to remain vigilant against the coronavirus and the government should guide the people to help regulate, manage and live with it.
Galvez thanked government agencies and task forces, local government units, the private sector, foreign partners, and the general public who were part of the fight against COVID-19, particularly the Omicron variant.
This variant caused a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases nationwide after the holidays in 2021 and in the beginning of 2022.
However, despite the increase in cases, the Omicron-triggered spike did not cause as many hospitalizations and deaths compared with the Delta variant.
Still, the Department of Health reminded the public that COVID-19 had not yet reached an endemic state in the Philippines, even with the shift to Alert Level 1.
With this, Galvez said the government would remain focused on giving booster shots to the adult population, inoculating children against COVID-19, and achieving a “resilient wall of protection.”
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