The Department of Health (DOH) said that a “thorough” assessment is needed before a disease can be declared as an "endemic" in a certain area.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that it is not just local authorities who will conduct such an assessment but also representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“When we talk about endemicity, declaring a specific area if the disease is endemic or not--it requires thorough evaluation,” said Vergeire in a press briefing on Friday, Nov. 5.

“Hindi lang po Pilipinas ang gumagawa. Katulong po natin ang WHO sa pagsasagawa ng classification na ganito (It would not just be the Philippines. WHO will also assist in conducting such a classification),” she said.

Vergeire said that the assessment if the disease is already endemic or not takes about three to five years. The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define endemic as "the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area."

It also added that "the amount of a particular disease that is usually present in a community is referred to as the baseline or endemic level of the disease. This level is not necessarily the desired level, which may in fact be zero, but rather is the observed level."

Vergeire made the pronouncement after OCTA Research fellow Guido David reportedly said in a forum that Cebu City is now close to the "endemic stage" of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

“Hindi porque bumababa na ang mga kaso ay masasabi na po nating endemic (It is not because the number of cases is decreasing that we can say that it is endemic). Endemic is a technical term. It is an epidemiologic term. And I advise people who are talking to the media to be very careful when they speak of these things,” said the DOH official.

Vergeire said such statements can lead to complacency among the public.

“Kasi iyan pag narinig ng ating mga kababayan, baka maging bunsod na maging complacent ang ating mga kababayan because the disease is already endemic. When in fact, hindi pa po natin masasabi (When citizens hear that, it may trigger for them to be complacent because the disease is already endemic. When in fact, we can't say that yet),” she said.

“Let me just repeat, kailangan ng thorough evaluation with our experts. It takes time...We do not just use this term. Kailangan may basehan tayo (Let me just repeat, we need a thorough evaluation with our experts. It takes time ... We do not just use this term. We need to have a basis),” she added.