Cooperation, continued vigilance key as daily new COVID cases fall--Go
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Thursday, Feb. 17 expressed hopes that the number of daily new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country would continue to decline through continued vigilance and cooperation from every Filipino.

Go, chairman of the Senate Health and Demography Committee, issued the statement after Malacañang reported Wednesday that the Philippines has been reclassified as low-risk for COVID-19.
“Kung ma-rerelax natin ang mga restrictions at ibang protocols, inaasahan natin na mas maraming sektor ng ekonomiya ang mabubuksan (If we can relax the restrictions and other protocols, we are hoping that more sectors of the economy will be opened)," he said.
"Mas marami sa ating mga kababayan ang makakapaghanapbuhay at makakabalik sa kanilang mga trabaho muli. Ibig sabihin, mas maraming pamilya ang makabangon mula sa hirap na dulot ng pandemya (A bigger number of our countrymen can go back to their work. This means that more families will recover from the hardship brought by the pandemic),” the lawmaker from Davao noted.
“Subalit dahan-dahan nating gawin ito. Maingat nating balansehin ang buhay at kabuhayan ng mga Pilipino (However, we will slowly do it. We will carefully balance the health and livelihood of the Filipinos). Huwag nating biglaing buksan lahat at mahihirapan na naman ang ating healthcare system. Ayaw nating mag-back to zero tayo (We will not rush the full opening of the economy to avoid the possible collapse of our healthcare system. We do not want to go back to zero),” he explained.
On Feb. 15, Go noted that the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 2,010 new cases--the lowest this year. He said that the steady drop in the number of fresh daily cases is a result of the country's two-year fight and sacrifices made against the pandemic.
“Bagama’t hindi pa naman natin sinasabi na ito ay downward trend na, nakikita naman natin ang magagandang resulta ng halos dalawang taon nating sakripisyo habang nakikipaglaban sa pandemya (While we are not saying that this is already a downward trend, we are seeing the beautiful results of our sacrifice in almost two-year battle against the pandemic),” Go said.
Meanwhle, Go said he is delighted with the results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Valentine’s Day which revealed that more than half of Filipinos would chose good health over love and money if they had to select just one of them.
COVID-19, according to Go, has encouraged Filipinos to value their health more. Nevertheless, the senator continues to warn them that the virus is still a concern and that they should continue to follow health precautions.
Go went on to encourage Filipinos to get vaccinated or receive their booster shots to ensure that they are well protected against COVID-19. He said that vaccinations are the only way to further reopen the economy and restore normalcy in the country.
He said that if Filipinos continue to safeguard and value their health and safety by getting vaccinated, “the light at the end of the tunnel” would grow closer.