Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 14) — Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, head of the Senate health committee, said Thursday he is mulling to revisit the health protocols amid the reported 36% increase in COVID-19 cases and rise in influenza-like illnesses.
“Among the issues we will be looking at are the need to revisit our health protocols; utilization rate of our COVID-19 health facilities; status of supplies of vaccines, medicines and protective equipment; and state of preparedness of our local governments nationwide, etc,” Go said.
“I urge everyone, especially high-risk individuals and those with comorbidities, to voluntarily wear face masks as much as possible,” he added.
The lawmaker stressed that the voluntary wearing of face masks should be practiced especially when an individual is surrounded by vulnerable persons.
The Philippine General Hospital recently announced the return of mandatory wearing of face masks in its vicinity.
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Go said the Senate health committee and the Department of Health (DOH) may conduct a hearing soon to inform the public about the status and the preparation of the government to prevent the increase of the diseases.
“Mabuti na ‘yung proactive tayo dahil ayaw nating mabigla na naman ang ating healthcare system [It’s better to be proactive so that our healthcare systems will be prepared,” he said.
As of Thursday, the DOH reported a total of 4,128,107 COVID-19 cases in the country, of which 3,943 are active cases. A total of 4,057,385 cases recovered while 66,779 died.
The National Capital Region has the highest total COVID-19 cases, followed by Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas.
According to the agency’s bulletin, a total of 177,374,244 COVID-19 vaccination doses have been administered.
