Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) — The country is ready should the World Health Organization (WHO) lift the state of Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for COVID-19, a health official said on Tuesday.
“If and when the public health emergency will be lifted, we know that the virus is here to stay,” Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.
She said health protocols would still be followed for public safety against the virus.
“The Philippines will continue to be cautious and vigilant, and we will still be imposing these same restrictions we have right now, which is not so much strict, but nandiyan yung safeguard natin [but with safeguards] that any time the cases will increase, we have our safeguards that we can rely on and we can impose para mas protektado ang Pilipino [to keep Filipinos protected],” she said.
The WHO declared the PHEIC in January 2020 in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19. In a statement in February 2020, the WHO said it aimed to make tests and vaccines available “to save lives and avert large scale crisis.”
