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Friday, March 29, 2024

DOH cautions tagging COVID ‘endemic’ in PH

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The Philippines must conduct a three- to five-year evaluation before declaring that COVID-19 has become endemic in the country, the Department of Health said Friday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, during a media briefing, said the evaluation would be conducted with the World Health Organization.

"It's about three to five years of observations, of notations, of taking blood tests or taking swabs kung COVID 'yan [if it’s COVID] among the general population," Vergeire said.

"We use certain criteria to declare that a virus is already endemic in an area. We cannot say it is endemic just because cases are going down,” she said.

Vergeire was reacting to the statement of OCTA Research's Dr. Guido David that Cebu City was “probably close” to the endemic stage.

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According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, endemic refers to the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area.

Vergeire advised caution when mentioning such things.

"Because the public may become complacent if they hear that the virus is already endemic when in fact it's not,” said Vergeire.

Vergeire stressed that COVID-19 was still being studied across the globe.

"Let’s remember that there are still uncertainties and unknowns regarding COVID-19. We should consider that our evidence is not yet complete. We still have a lot of variants that we are still monitoring across the globe,” she said.

OCTA's David on Thursday said the National Capital Region had returned to its state before the surge in cases driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.

Vergeire, however, said the DOH could not yet say that NCR had reversed the surge of the Delta variant even though cases have gone down and become manageable.

The DOH recently reported 520 additional Delta cases, bringing the total to 5,331.

Cebu City on Thursday recorded 21 fresh infections, raising its tally of active cases to 275.

Vergeire said some parts of the country were still facing rising COVID-19 cases and admissions in hospitals.

Vergeire noted health authorities were able to contain at a "manageable level" the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country from the Delta variant. The health care system, she said, was also not overwhelmed.

Region and seven other urban areas were now classified as "low risk" for COVID-19, while Cebu City was now considered as "very low risk."

The seven other areas include Davao City, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal.

"We have reversed the Delta surge already in NCR. We were back to where we were before the surge in July. And the good news is it's not just in the NCR," he told reporters.

The decline in cases could be attributed to wide vaccine coverage, the public's adherence to minimum public health standards, and the enforcement of lockdowns, David said.

Metro Manila is now averaging 493 cases per day, compared to its peak of 5,000 in the past months, Vergeire said.

The country is recording an average of 2,888 daily infections. In September, it logged over 20,000 cases amid the presence of the Delta variant.

The sprawling capital region, home to over 13 million people, eased to Alert Level 2 starting Friday amid decline in COVID-19 cases.

The alert level, which allows for greater mobility and higher capacity in businesses, will last until Nov. 21.

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