[ad_1]
With the Christmas and New Year holidays approaching, the Department of Health (DOH) urges the public to shop and meet with family and friends online to reduce the risk of transmission of the new coronavirus.
Undersecretary of Health María Rosario Vergeire said Monday that while the DOH understood the public’s enthusiasm for Christmas shopping and being able to perform other Christmas rituals, it was concerned about a possible increase in infections as people gathered. in shopping malls and shopping districts.
“Let’s remember that the virus is still here. Even if you wear your mask and face shield, but you would go to a crowded place, you could still get infected. The risk is there and it is very high, ”said Vergeire.
Alternative forms
Vergeire issued the reminder after shoppers were featured on the network news that packed the streets of Divisoria in Manila over the weekend to avoid the Christmas rush. He asked the public to find alternative ways to welcome the holidays.
“We advise everyone to opt for online activities like online Masses, make video calls with friends and family, and if possible, just shop online. In this way, we reduce the possibility or the possibility that we infect ourselves or others with COVID-19, ”he said.
On Monday, DOH recorded an additional 1,799 infections, bringing the national tally to 420,614.
Cavite reported the highest number of cases, 154, followed by Rizal (114), Quezon City (99), Bulacan (76), and Laguna (67).
The DOH said 135 more patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of survivors to 386,604. But the death toll rose to 8,173 when 50 more patients succumbed to the severe respiratory illness.
Recoveries and deaths left the country with 25,837 active cases, or 6.1 percent of the total, of which 83.5 percent were mild, 7.8 percent asymptomatic, 0.26 percent moderate, 2.9 per cent serious and 5.5 per cent critical.
For the first time since June, the daily positivity rate, or the number of people who tested positive for the virus, dropped to less than 5 percent. Of the 19,178 tests performed at noon Monday, 853 tested positive, or a positivity rate of 4.4 percent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) previously set a baseline positivity rate of less than 5 percent.
Vergeire said the DOH had observed new cases that continued to stabilize at less than 2,000 in recent weeks. But he acknowledged that some areas like Davao were still being monitored to ensure that the local health system could cope with the increase in infections.
The health official said that based on the latest information, the WHO-led Vaccine Solidarity Trials would go ahead as scheduled in December. However, the world health body has not yet provided the list of candidate vaccines that will be used in the trial, which will involve 4,000 Filipinos.
Plans not yet final
Responding to Vice President Leni Robredo’s suggestion that vaccine recipients be named, Vergeire said the DOH could not do that yet, as it was still finalizing plans for the vaccine.
“Until we have a final list of the vaccines that we are going to purchase, we cannot yet identify who will be vaccinated,” he said.
Regarding the advance payment for the vaccine purchase, Vergeire said that President Duterte had approved the advance payment to Pfizer. The US pharmaceutical company, which is scheduled to apply for an emergency use authorization in the United States this week, previously said its vaccine was 95 percent effective against COVID-19.
Due to its confidentiality disclosure agreement with Pfizer, the government cannot yet disclose how many doses it will buy and for how much. INQ
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
LABELS:
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
