Health Secretary Francisco Duque III reminded the public on Tuesday not to be complacent amid the country’s downtrend of COVID-19 cases.
Duque said that while the Department of Health (DOH) observed a decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases.
“This downward trend is certainly a welcome development. But cases may again rise if we are not careful. We hope that we won’t suffer the same fate [as Europe],” Duque said.
Europe is currently fighting the second wave of coronavirus outbreak.
As of November 10, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines has reached 399,749 after the Department of Health recorded 1,347 additional cases.
Of that number, 30,169 are active cases or those who have not yet recovered from the disease.
From November 1 to 10, new COVID-19 cases increased by only 19,143, compared with the same period in October when it soared by 25,707.
The DOH chief attributed the decrease in new cases to the government’s continued efforts, the barangays’ local responses, and the public’s practice of the minimum health standards, such as wearing masks, hand-washing, and physical distancing.
Duque hopes PH will not suffer same fate as Europe
“Let us not waste this triumph. Let us not be complacent. Let us not [let] our guard down,” he said.
The DOH reported 187 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 361,919. The death toll, however, increased to 7,661 as 14 more patients died of the new coronavirus.
The Philippines currently has 30,169 active cases, of which 83 percent were mild, 9.4 percent asymptomatic, 2.7 percent severe, and 4.8 percent critical.
Meanwhile, there is a good chance that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech in the United States will be used by the Philippines to prevent coronavirus disease, Malacañang said Tuesday.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, it is possible to approve it immediately for “emergency use in the Philippines.”
“Kapag na-approve na ng US FDA (Food and Drug Administration), European FDA, it is almost… it will not take time to approve the emergency use of this vaccine,” said Roque.
“But it is not automatic, kailangan pa rin ng some review iyan,” he added.