The Department of Health (DOH) said the pandemic is not over yet as the transmission of Covid-19 virus continues across the globe.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire does not share the same view with US President Joe Biden about the current status of Covid-19.
In a recent interview, Biden said that the “pandemic is over. We still have a problem with Covid. We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over.”
For Vergeire, the pandemic “cannot be over if there are still a number of deaths happening all over the globe, in different countries,” she said during a press briefing on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
“We cannot say that the pandemic is over if we can still see transmission happening between and among countries,” she added.
Vergeire believes that only the World Health Organization (WHO) can make such a declaration about the status of Covid-19.
“I think the authority to pronounce and to assess if the pandemic is over would be the WHO because they can see the different context, the different situations of each and every country across the globe,” she said.
Although Covid-19 remains a threat, the DOH agrees with the WHO that its end is already in sight.
“Sa ngayon, tayo ay hopeful, positive tayo dahil mayroon na nga tayong mga (Right now, we are hopeful and we are positive because we already have) improvements compared to two years ago. At tayo ay hopeful na sana dadating tayo sa punto na makikita natin that we can already go back to normalcy (And we are hopeful that we will reach a point where we can already go back to normalcy),” she said.
Vergeire reminded Filipinos to always be vigilant and protect themselves against the viral disease.
“We still need to be protected, we cannot be complacent,” she said.
“I think vaccination is the key and risk assessment or determining your risk if you want to voluntarily remove your mask outdoors will also be critical,” she added.