Public health expert Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon said Covid-19 is not yet endemic, reminding Filipinos that the threat of the disease lingers. Leachon on Sunday, April 16, said the World Health Organization (WHO) views Covid-19 at a “transition point” but the organization never claimed that it already is at the “endemic stage.” The disease was declared as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. Photo courtesy of Unsplash
“Ang lagi kong tinitignan ay yung sasabihin ng WHO, kasi buong mundo ang mino-monitor nila. Ang sabi nila [kahit] na ang ibang countries are [now] declaring [it] endemic ay nasa transition period [pa lang] tayo (What I always look at is what WHO has to say, because they are monitoring the whole world. They say even if other countries are now declaring it endemic, we are still in a transition period) ,” said Leachon in an interview over DZRH on Sunday. “Never nilang sinabi na [nasa] endemic stage [na tayo], lalo na ngayon [sa Pilipinas] — two weeks ago maganda ang positivity rate, [pero] after two weeks ay umangat tayo sa 7.4 percent (They never said that we are at the endemic stage, especially now in the Philippines – two weeks ago the positivity rate was good, but now it climbed to 7.4 percent),” he added. Latest data showed that the nationwide Covid-19 positivity rate has climbed to 7.4 percent. Leachon said the increase is “not as severe” compared to the previous surges, but it should still be a cause of concern because the transmissions are still ongoing. “It is not over until it is over. The virus is still out there and we need to protect ourselves. [Right now], I don’t think it is in the endemic stage,” he concluded.