Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, January 3, said that operations at her campaign headquarters will temporarily stop because of the rising cases of new COVID-19 cases amid the threat of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

However, Robredo stressed that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will continue providing aid to areas devastated by Typhoon “Odette”.

“Pansamantalang ititigil ang mga operasyon sa aming campaign headquarters para sa kaligtasan ng mga volunteer at staff, pero magpapatuloy ang pagbibigay ng tulong sa mga lugar na apektado ng bagyong Odette (In the meantime, we will stop operations in our campaign headquarters for the safety of the volunteer and staff, but we will continue giving aid to the areas affected by Typhoon Odette),” she said in a statement.

The Vice President turned the Leni-Kiko volunteer headquarters along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City into a relief operations center to address the needs of Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao, which are heavily impacted by the super typhoon.

She assured the public that the OVP’s free telemedicine consultation, Bayanihan E-Konsulta, is still available while the free antigen testing, Swab Cab, initiative will start again this week.

READ: Robredo revives Swab Cab as nation expects another COVID-19 surge

These are part of her office’s response to the surging number of new COVID-19 cases.

The aspiring president also called on the public to strictly follow health and safety protocols.

“Proteksyunan natin ang ating mga mahal sa buhay at tumulong na mapababa ang kaso ng COVID sa pamamagitan ng sakripisyo natin (Let us protect our loved ones and help lower the COVID cases by our sacrifices),” she said.

While the situation isn’t easy, the opposition leader believes that Filipinos can get through it by banding together.

“Hindi man madali ang sitwasyon, alam natin na kaya nating malampasan ito kung magkakaisa tayo (Though the situation is difficult, we know can get through this if we are united),” she said.

The country is experiencing another surge of COVID-19 cases, feared to be fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

READ: PH returns to high-risk COVID-19 classification – DOH

On Monday, the country logged 4,084 new cases with a positivity rate of 20.7 percent, the highest since Sept. 30. This ended at least two months of less strict quarantine measures as Filipinos ushered in the holiday season.