COVID-19 pandemic not yet over – DOH

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday reminded the public that the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) lifting the global state of public health emergency.

“Even though the WHO has already lifted the public health emergency of international concern status, hindi po nila sinabi na tapos na ang pandemya (they did not say that the pandemic is over),” said DOH officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing.

“We cannot be complacent at this point, kailangan tuloy tuloy pa rin tayong maging mapagmatiyag and remain vigilant,” she added.

(We cannot be complacent at this point, we still need to be vigilant.)

Vergeire pointed out that the WHO’s lifting of the global public health emergency is merely an acknowledgment of the fact that the world’s response against the virus has been effective.

Vergeire, in the same briefing, said that the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) would submit its recommendations to the Office of the President, following the recent global development.

These recommendations, said Vergeire, refer to the government’s next steps for the local state of public health emergency and its implications to the country’s COVID-19 response.

“Ang lahat ng recommendation ng IATF ay isusumite sa Pangulo para sa kaniyang consideration at approval,” said Vergeire.

(The IATF recommendations will be submitted to the President for his consideration and approval.)

“Sa ngayon lahat po ng polisiya based on the executive orders ng ating pangulo at ng iba pang IATF resolution shall still be in effect unless otherwise repealed,” she added.

(Right now, all policies based on the executive orders of our president and other IATF resolutions shall still be in effect unless otherwise repealed.)

The WHO said that the COVID-19 virus left at least 20 million people dead worldwide.

 In the Philippines, the COVID-19 death toll stands at 66,453.

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