Duque: PH’s COVID-19 transition plan may be out next week

(FILE) Passengers bound for Central Luzon present proof of their COVID-19 vaccination before they are allowed to board their bus at Baliwag Transit Terminal on Edsa in Cubao, Quezon City. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s transition plan for embracing an endemic approach to COVID-19 may be released next week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Wednesday.

According to Duque, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) have conducted meetings to discuss the country’s COVID-19 transition plan.

“Mayroon tayong plano (We have a plan). In fact last week, we have met about two to three times together with Neda and the IATF principals. The transition plan will be finished by hopefully mid next week, so let us wait for that,” he said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart.

“Nandoon, malinaw ‘yung what we call the new normal roadmap, so this is something that we will launch as soon as all the inputs from the different sectors have been submitted kasi hindi naman ito madaling gawin,” he added.

(There, the new normal roadmap will be clear, so this is something that we will launch as soon as all the inputs from different sectors have been submitted because this is not easy to do.)

Duque said the transition plan will be “very comprehensive,” as he acknowledged that “we will live with the virus.”

Duque revealed the possible release of the transition plan next week when asked about the remarks of Senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III that the government should be preparing a policy to handle the transition of COVID-19 from pandemic to endemic. Lacson and Sotto are running mates for the presidential and vice presidential race.

Metro Manila and 38 other areas were earlier placed under the most lenient Alert Level 1 starting March 1 to March 15. Health authorities earlier said the said alert level will be considered the “new normal” in the country.

/MUF