MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines ranked 33rd among 121 countries in terms of COVID-19 recovery, the Department of Health said Sunday.
Based on the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index, the country has had a consistent decline in new cases, with low to no confirmed fatalities in the past weeks despite opening its borders to international tourists since February.
READ: DOH: New COVID-19 cases in PH declining
“This remarkable recovery reported by independent external observers is being balanced by safety protocols managed by the Department of Health (DOH) and our partners,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement.
“The DOH has always been aware that the COVID-19 pandemic response is more marathon than sprint. We are carefully pacing ourselves using the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, led by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. As the current administration ends, we are confident that the next administration and its incoming Secretary of Health will continue or even improve our march to recovery in the New Normal,” he further said.
The DOH cited the public’s “diligent” compliance with protocols such as the wearing of face masks, isolation, vaccination, and ensuring a good airflow.
READ: Dropping face mask mandate not likely as gov’t eyes shift to ‘new normal’
The health agency likewise noted the capability of whole genome sequencing conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Philippine Genome Center which enables the detection of virus sub-variants.
The Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index’s idea of “recovered” state is a low COVID-19 transmission, low death rates, high vaccine coverage, and few movement prohibitions.
The index is based on objective measures of infection management, vaccine rollout, and social mobility.
The countries that topped the index are Qatar, Cambodia, United Arab Emirates, Rwanda, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, South Korea, Dominican Republic, and Nepal.
#Vietnam and the #Philippines logged their best performances in Nikkei's #COVID19 Recovery Index for May, as both countries managed to ease restrictions while keeping infections low.
Take a look at the full ranking here: https://t.co/XUXtCNIoZb pic.twitter.com/FvAlqCztWA
— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) June 3, 2022
Last year, the Philippines placed last in the list of nations measured for their ability to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: PH ranks last out of 121 countries in global COVID-19 recovery index – Nikkei