End of COVID-19 pandemic not yet seen in the Philippines —expert

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet in sight in the Philippines, an infectious diseases expert on Monday said, noting that the country ranks near the top in reporting weekly new deaths due to the disease. 

"Nakikita natin dito sa datos ng WHO, ang Philippines ay fifth among, globally, reporting new deaths on a weekly basis last week," Dr. Rontgene Solante said in a public briefing.

"Ang ibig sabihin, kung matatanaw man natin, hindi pa siguro within the next two or three months kasi mataas-taas pa rin o meron pa rin tayong mga kasong nakikita,” 

(We can see, based on the WHO data, that the Philippines ranked fifth globally in reporting new deaths on a weekly basis last week. This means, this may not be possible within the next two or three months because the cases are still high.)

Solante made the remark after the World Health Organization said last week that the end of the pandemic is in sight and that countries around the globe “have never been in a better position” to end it. WHO cited the development to the number of newly reported COVID-19 cases dropping “dramatically.”

WHO, however, also noted that the world must seize the opportunity to end the pandemic. "If we don't take this opportunity now, we run the risk of more variants, more deaths, more disruption, and more uncertainty," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Solante pointed to the continuous spread of the Omicron subvariants, and to the relatively high death rate despite the low healthcare utilization rate.

“Sa ngayon, hindi ko pa nakikita 'yung ganung pananaw. Although mas mababa ang mga kaso natin ngayon kumpara noong January or September last year, pero tuloy-tuloy pa rin na meron tayong community transmission especially with this BA.5 variant,” he added.

(Right now, I don’t see it that way. Although we have fewer cases now compared to January or September last year, we still have community transmission especially with this BA.5 sub variant.)

He also said that based on the current data, there are still many areas that are classified as moderate risk for COVID-19.

For the Department of Health’s (DOH) part, its officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire backed WHO's statement, saying that she is also seeing the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. She, however, reiterated that the virus is here to stay.

Vergeire also emphasized that the country must continue testing, maintain its clinical management, reach its vaccination targets, institutionalize healthcare facilities, and implement continuous risk communication with the public to manage the COVID-19 situation here. — BM, GMA News