Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 27) — The Philippines is again “the worst place to be” during the pandemic, according to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 resilience ranking.
For the third time in the past five months, the country ranked the lowest out of 53 economies in handling the global health crisis.
The Philippines’ resiliency score was at 48.3 this month — down from 52 in December, when it slightly climbed to the 50th spot.
Bloomberg cited the country’s challenges in administering COVID-19 vaccines in remote areas “as [it] sees an Omicron surge worse than other Southeast Asian countries, like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.”
On Thursday, the Department of Health reported 1,153 cases of the highly contagious variant, including five deaths. Majority of these infections were positive for the “stealth” or BA.2 sub-lineage.
Metro Manila, on the other hand, may have already reached the peak of the Omicron surge as it continues to log decreasing cases, the DOH said. But the agency noted it may be too early to consider easing restrictions.
The other four nations at the bottom five as of January were Argentina with 57, Russia with 55.9, Romania with 55.5, and Vietnam with 53.4.
Countries from the Middle East dominated in terms of responding to COVID-19, Bloomberg said. The United Arab Emirates placed first for the second time since November with a score of 78.9.
“Its success is based on an approach it’s been following for months: a combination of almost full vaccination, coupled with consistent openness to travel, alongside what has been a smaller outbreak compared with elsewhere,” Bloomberg noted.
The UAE was followed by Saudi Arabia with 77.8. Finland and Turkey got 70.1 each. Singapore rounded up the top five with 70.
Last month, the Philippines’ resilience ranking improved as it saw COVID-19 cases as low as 200. It was likewise put under the less strict Alert Level 2, encouraging more mobility during the holidays.
That same month, however, was when the Omicron variant is said to have entered the country.
