The Department of Health (DOH) admitted that it made a mistake in saying that the Philippines is “low risk” in COVID-19.
“Siguro mali din talaga ang framing ng communication natin na low risk na ‘yung bansa, but there was no intent for DOH to pronounce or announce that the Philippines is at low risk and that we can be complacent already,” explained DOH spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire.
The DOH admitted that they erred in the way they presented the situation of COVID-19 in the country.
The World Health Organization to be careful in declaring the Philippines as a “low-risk” area for COVID-19.
“We need to be more cautious. It’s not costly to err on the side of caution. We need to be consistent in our messaging. The public needs to be aware that the risk remains and that they need to follow protocols,” WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said.
“So we have to be careful here. We recognize that in NCR (National Capital Region), significant progress has been made in the vaccination. The rate of coverage is nowhere near what we could be comfortable to say that we are unlikely to see a major surge,” he added.
DOH admits PH ‘low risk’ in COVID-19 a mistake
Meanwhile, the DOH also reminded the public of the importance of receiving the second dose of the vaccine to get protection from it fully.
The study shows that people who are considered fully vaccinated are less likely to be hospitalized or die the following illness due to the Delta variant.
Two Filipinos from Saudi Arabia tested positive for the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19. However, the two have been released from the quarantine facility after being declared well.
The two Filipinos from KSA allegedly arrived in the Philippines on May 29, 2021, and completed the 10-day isolation period.
“They have been discharged from the quarantine facility after being tagged as recovered,” said DOH.