Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Filipinos should learn to live with Covid-19 and transition to a new normal as eradicating the virus is not feasible.
In a Laging Handa PH public briefing on Wednesday, Vergeire said that the public would have to rely on vaccines and continue to comply with the health protocols to coexist with the virus while reducing risk and protecting others.
“Kailangan po maintindihan ng ating mga kababayan, we are now supposed to live with the virus. Alam po natin ito pong Covid-19 virus is here to stay with us. Alam din po natin na pangmatagalan po itong sakit na ito na hindi naman po talaga basta-basta mawawala [Our fellow citizens must understand, we are now supposed to live with the virus. We all know that the Covid-19 virus is here to stay with us. We also know that this is a long-term virus that we cannot eradicate instantly],” Vergeire said.
She added that the government would no longer impose strict lockdowns as it did during the height of the pandemic.
“Hindi naman po kailangan. We have our alert level matrix at dito po sa sistema na ‘to, nakikita natin kung kailangan na nating maghigpit uli. Pero sa ngayon, hindi na ho tayo nandun sa direksyon na gusto natin magsasara, magbubukas, magsasara, magbubukas [There is no need. We have our alert level matrix and in this system, we can see if there is already a need to impose strict protocols again. But for now, we are no longer in that direction where we will repeatedly close and open (the economy),” she said.
Vergeire said about 63 more cases of three Omicron subvariants were reported in Western Visayas, National Capital Region, and among returning overseas Filipinos.
She added that Filipinos are expected to contract the virus as Covid-19 cases continue to rise again due to mobility patterns, low vaccine uptick especially for booster shots, and compliance to minimum public health standards.
“Ang pinakaimportante po sa atin ngayon ay mai-manage natin at saka ma-maintain natin ang ating mga ospital na hindi dumadami po ang nagkakasakit at naa-admit, ma-maintain natin na mababa po ang severe and critical. So ibig sabihin, expected po talaga na maaaring may magkasakit. Basta mild and moderate lang at tsaka asymptomatic, tayo po ay makakaagapay dito [The most important matter for us now is to be able to manage and maintain our hospitals, control the number of people getting sick and admitted, maintain low number of severe and critical cases. So this means, it is really expected for people to get sick. As long as it is only mild and moderate, we can survive this],” Vergeire said.
As of June 28, DOH data showed that more than half of the total hospital admissions are asymptomatic and mild Covid-19 cases while the severe and critical cases comprise at least 10.68 percent or a total of only 591 cases, significantly lower than the 20 percent reported in January.
Photo Credit: Philippine News Agency