The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday expressed concern over the big crowds in recent campaign sorties of 2022 poll candidates.
In a Laging Handa briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire underscored that mass gathering remains prohibited as the risk of transmission is still present.
“This is really a cause of concern. Tatandaan natin that the virus is still here, the variants are still here, hindi lang po Omicron, nakakapag-detect pa rin tayo ng Delta (Remember that the virus is still here, the variants are still here, it’s not only the Omicron, we can still detect the Delta variant),” she said.
“Having said that ito pong mga mass gatherings po hanggang sa ngayon po hindi pa rin natin ‘yan ina-allow (until now we still don’t allow these kinds of mass gatherings,” she added.
She urged local government units to help the national government monitor these rallies to prevent an increase in the country’s already declining coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
For the poll bets, Vergeire said they should serve as role models who follow the basic health protocols.
“Gusto lang naming magpaalala sa ating mga kababayan na pumupunta sa mga ganitong gatherings, mag-iingat po tayo dahil maaari pa rin po tayong makakuha ng sakit dulot niyan (To the public who attend these kinds of gatherings, be careful because you can still catch a disease because of it),” she said.
The 90-day campaign period for national candidates began last February 8.
The country’s active coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases decreased to 84,229 as the DOH on Saturday posted 10,662 new recoveries and only 3,792 new infections. (PNA)