Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 3) — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said it soon hopes to classify COVID-19 as a common illness in the country once the situation stabilizes.
“It’s all part of having this kind of shift from a pandemic into endemicity. So, ito pong pagkakaroon ng endemic na state ng isang bansa sa isang sakit, kasama po ‘yan that you are now classifying this illness as something common already in the country. Hopefully towards the end of the year, sana po maging stable tayo,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
[Translation: It’s all part of having this kind of shift from a pandemic into endemicity. So, a country having an illness in an endemic state is part of classifying this illness as something common already in the country. Hopefully, towards the end of the year we will be stable.]
This was her response when asked if the Philippines would follow the move of Japan, as the latter sets to downgrade COVID-19 to the same level as seasonal flu on May 8.
“We will eventually get to that point, but for now let us closely monitor,” Vergeire said.
Based on the DOH’s latest COVID-19 case bulletin, there were 4,456 new infections from April 24 to 30. This meant an average of 637 cases daily, which is 42% higher than the previous week.
The OCTA Research group also said Metro Manila’s positivity rate – – or the rate of people testing positive for COVID-19 -– increased to 18.8% on May 1 from 11.7% on April 24.
While this is the current situation, Vergeire said the country’s health system can still accommodate all COVID-19 patients. She also noted that most of the infections are mild.
