Health Secretary Francisco Duque III favors keeping the Philippines on Alert Level 2 in the face of the threat of the more contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 in the upcoming holiday season.
According to Duque, despite the improving situation of COVID-19 in the country, it is better to keep Alert Level 2, which is scheduled to end on December 15.
“Para sa akin, dapat siguro, tama lang manatili muna tayo sa Alert Level 2,” said Duque.
“Ang mobility tataas na naman ngayong Kapaskuhan… at merong nagbabadya o banta ng omicron variant. Maigi na konserbatibo tayo, anyway malaki-laki na rin ang bahagi ng ekonomiya na binuksan natin under the Alert Level 2,” he said.
The University of the Philippines COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team previously proposed that after the holiday season, only implement Alert Level 1.
According to scientist Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, a fellow of the OCTA Research Group, preliminary data shows that although the omicron variant is more contagious, it may not cause more severe disease than the delta variant.
“Omicron hospitalizations are quite low. Of the people who were hospitalized, what is so amazing about the omicron is that 70 percent of them do not need oxygen. This is very different from the delta experience,” said Austriaco.
For Austriaco, Filipinos don’t have to panic over the variant and instead celebrate Christmas while caution continues.
Duque favors retaining Alert Level 2 due to Omicron
“We have attained substantial population immunity from natural infections and vaccinations in urban areas,” said Austriaco.
“At least the NCR (National Capital Region) with nearly 100-percent protection of adults and increasing among teenagers, we’re going to be robustly protected against the future surge,” he said.
But according to the Department of Health, other regions in the country have not yet achieved high vaccination rates.
In fact, only over 38 million Filipinos who can be vaccinated are fully vaccinated.
“Dito sa NCR they were able to achieve already ‘yong 70 percent na target, pero sa ibang regions mababa pa rin. So hindi natin masasabi na pantay-pantay if it’s substantial enough to protect our whole country,” said Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Despite this, the Philippines rose by more than 40 places in the COVID-19 recovery ranking of Nikkei Asia.
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