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Philippines marks 1st year since confirming first COVID-19 case


Cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines continue to increase a year after the Department of Health confirmed the first case of the virus in the country.

According to Maki Pulido’s report on “State of the Nation” on Friday, the first case of COVID-19 in the country was announced on January 30, 2020.

Health Undersecretary Francisco Duque III said a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan, China arrived in the Philippines via Hong Kong.

In March 2020, the World Health organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic.

Since then, cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines have soared. So far, the country has recorded a total of 521,413 cases including 475,765 recoveries and 10,600 deaths.

According to the Health Alliance for Democracy, the surge in cases in the country could have been prevented if the national government’s efforts were proactive.

The group said the government did not have a comprehensive COVID-19 response.

“Noong umpisa kasi parang ilan-ilan lang so actually, dine-deny ng gobyerno na kailangan ng mass testing so pag wala ka noon, wala kang ise-setup na contact tracing,” Albert Pascual of the Health Alliance for Democracy said.

In a study by the Australian think tank Lowy Institute, the Philippines ranked 79th among 98 countries in containing the health crisis.

The DOH, meanwhile, acknowledged the report but said Lowy Institute’s methodology for the index “did not capture the complex nature of pandemic response.”

The DOH added that the pandemic was “very dynamic and the capture of proper context is crucial in assessing the performance of a country.”

“We can’t be comparing apples to oranges,” the DOH said in a statement. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/DVM, GMA News

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