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MANILA, Philippines – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that families would have to make the “difficult decision” not to get together during the upcoming holidays to reduce their chances of becoming infected with the new coronavirus.
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical director of WHO’s health emergencies program, said the agency understood that people wanted to be with their families during the Christmas season, but because the pandemic was still raging, there was a risk that, they unknowingly passed the virus on to loved ones. .
“There is no zero risk, sadly. In some situations, the difficult decision not to have that family reunion is the safest bet. Everyone would have to make that decision based on their current situation, their family, where they should travel, “Kerkhove said at a briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
‘No safe or unsafe decision’
Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program, added that at this point in the pandemic, “there is no safe or unsafe decision.”
“There is just a higher and lower risk that the situation will get better or worse, depending on what you do,” he said.
As an example, Ryan said that after Canada’s Thanksgiving celebration in October, the country saw an increase in transmission of the virus.
“Because people get together, mix, travel. It is inevitable that in the presence of community transmission, if the opportunity for the virus is further released, it will find opportunities to transmit, ”he said.
In the Philippines, gathering with family and friends and going to Christmas bazaars are traditional activities during the Christmas season.
This is why the Department of Health (DOH) has asked the public to avoid attending large family, social or religious gatherings, in-person shopping, and indoor gatherings that involve singing and dancing, as these are activities that carry a higher risk. of transmitting the virus. .
Like the DOH advice, the WHO also advised the public to choose to connect with their friends and loved ones online, especially if they would visit someone who is at higher risk of getting sick or dying from COVID-19.
Celebrate after a pandemic
“Even if you can’t celebrate together this year, you can find ways to celebrate when this is all over. We are doing that in our own family and we are going to have a great celebration when this is all over, no matter what time it is, “said Kerkhove.
On Tuesday, DOH recorded an additional 1,118 coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 421,722. The city of Caloocan recorded the highest number of new infections, 89, followed by the city of Davao (52), Laguna (52), the province of Quezon (47) and the city of Quezon (46).
The DOH said 196 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 386,792.
But the death toll rose to 8,185 with the death of 12 more patients. Recoveries and deaths left the country with 26,745 active cases, of which 83.7 percent were mild, 7.9 percent asymptomatic, 0.25 percent moderate, 2.8 percent severe, and 5.3 percent critical. .
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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