The Department of Health (DOH) said it is "cautiously optimistic" about the recent positive developments regarding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the possible end of the pandemic this year.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the statement after a recent Social Welfare Stations (SWS) survey result showed that 51 percent of Filipinos expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will end in 2022.
“That is the hope of everybody even internationally—iyan na po yung parang nagiging mindset ng mga tao (that's becoming the mindset of the people) that the pandemic ends by the end of 2022,” said Vergeire during a public briefing on Saturday, Feb. 12.
“Katulad po ng lagi naming sinasabi, kailangan cautiously optimistic tayo. Lahat tayo gusto natin makarating diyan pero kailangan may caution pa rin tayo dahil alam natin in any given time pwede pa rin lumabas ang mga bagong variants at maaring mag cause pa rin ng pagtaas ng kaso (As we always say, we need to be cautiously optimistic. We all want to get there but we still need to be careful because we know that in any given time, new variants can still emerge and can still cause an increase in cases),” she said.
Vergeire said that the shift to the so-called “new-normal” is “equated with Alert Level 1.”
“Para ang buong bansa ay magshift to Alert Level 1, kailangan meron tayong minimal to low-risk na case trend. Ibig sabihin, ang mga kaso na naitatala sa ating lugar sa Pilipinas dapat nasa minimal to low risk lang (For the whole country to shift to Alert Level 1, we need to have a minimal to low-risk case trend. The cases recorded in areas in the Philippines should be between minimal to low risk),” she said.
“Dapat ang bakunahan sa lahat ng rehiyon more than 70 percent among the targeted individuals. Additionally, dapat lahat ng public and private places, workplaces, schools, nakakasunod sa safety protocols (The vaccination rate should be 70 percent among the targeted individuals in all regions. Additionally, all public and private places, workplaces, schools must comply with safety protocols),” she added.
At this point, the Philippine government is now preparing in the event that an area will be placed under the lowest alert level.
“Government is preparing kung saka-sakali na dumating tayo sa punto na iyan para if and when that happens, lahat tayo prepared (Government is preparing in case we come to that point. If and when that happens, we are all prepared)---not just the government but also the communities are prepared to shift to this new normal,” she said.
READ: DOH: COVID-19 not endemic yet, but PH already preparing for ‘new normal’