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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Covid-19 now 'minimal risk' but public safety precautions should continue — DOH

Covid-19 now 'minimal risk' but public safety precautions should continue — DOH

Published Dec 15, 2023 08:36 am

The Department of Health (DOH) acknowledged in a media forum on Friday, Dec. 15, the slight rise in Covid-19 cases but stressed it is not as concerning as before.

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Photo credit to DOH

"Actually, we don't see it as an alarming increase, we're not as worried anymore," Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro "Ted" Herbosa said as he emphasized the Covid-19 cases remain mild.

"It's not like before, where we saw a lot of severe pneumonia cases and deaths in the intensive care unit [ICU]," he added.

The health secretary highlighted that according to infectious disease experts, the most recent variants of interest resembled “common colds and flu” and are just likely a “respiratory infection.”

However, he emphasized that this does not mean it is not “dangerous” since it still can be --- especially for the elderly, people with low immune systems, and children with comorbidities.

“The risk of getting any respiratory infections is still high, including Covid-19,” he added.

Given this, DOH urged the public to exercise basic precautions like wearing masks and practicing proper hygiene --- especially when traveling.

Moreover, addressing recent concerns about increased hospital bed occupancy, Herbosa explained: “When the DOH analyzed this, noong nawala na ang Covid, ang mga hospital kinontian na lang ang kanilang allocated beds at dinamihan ang para sa ibang disease. (When the DOH analyzed this it was when Covid was gone, the hospitals just reduced their allocated beds and used those for other diseases),” he said.

“So what was said was the allocated beds being filled means the number of cases was lessened,” he added.

Herbosa also pointed out there were many other illnesses other than Covid-19 that the DOH should focus on.

“We need a more inclusive approach that we can monitor all diseases,” he added. 

Related Tags

Department of Health (DOH) Covid 19 DOH
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