The Department of Health (DOH) once again reminded the public not to get complacent when it comes to the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made this statement after OCTA Research Group fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco said it was "less likely" that another severe coronavirus variant will emerge after the Omicron variant.
For her part, Vergeire believes “it is too early to say that” at this point.
“But of course, Father Nick is a scientist. So tingnan po natin. Pero ang babala naman po ng mga eksperto and even across the globe na huwag po muna tayong maging complacent (So let's see. But the experts warn and even across the globe--- that we should not be complacent),” said Vergeire during a public briefing on Saturday, Jan. 22.
“ because there might be other variants of concern again that might enter our country, different countries that might cause more infections and more transmissions,” she added.
Vergeire assured the public that the DOH is continuously monitoring the COVID-19 situation.
“Ayaw po natin magkaroon ng parang period or parang tinutuldukan na natin na wala ng mas hihigit pa sa Omicron. Ating magkaroon ng vigilance para mamonitor natin itong mga bagong variants na lumalabas (We don't want to set a period that no other severe variants will emerge after Omicron. We will maintain our vigilance so that we can monitor new variants that are coming out),” she added.