DILG urges public to continue health protocols as OCTA warns of possible surge
As the Philippines eases to the least stricter Alert Level 1, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Wednesday urges the public to religiously adhere to minimum public health standards following OCTA Research's warning of possible uptick in cases if health protocols are disregarded.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said the COVID-19 pandemic is not over and the downgrade to Alert Level 1 from March 1-15, 2022 is not an excuse for the people to ignore minimum public health protocols.
He said that "we must protect each other by following the health protocols in place to ensure that surges will not happen."
"Let us not get carried away by the easing of COVID-19 restrictions to Alert Level 1. If we want to stay under Alert Level 1, ipagpatuloy natin ang pagsunod sa minimum public health standards because this is how we contribute to further decrease coronavirus infections in our country," Año said.
He said the public must not be complacent despite a lower restriction level for factors such as waning immunity, the election period, and public's non-adherence to minimum public health standards may cause the uptick of cases.
"We continue to remind the public, let us continue to adhere to the MPHS. The easing to Alert Level 1 is to help the economy but we must wear face mask, sumunod tayo sa minimum public health standards. Kapag mag-aattend tayo ng campaign rallies dapat vaccinated and sundin natin ang mga health protocol," he added.
According to the Department of Health, among the minimum public health standards that must be exercised by the public are wearing of face mask, especially in public and enclosed places; washing and sanitizing hands; referring to factual information from legitimate sources; and, taking advantage of free vaccines against COVID-19.
"Hindi naman po mahirap ang mga ito. Sa atin pong mga kababayan, sana po ay ugaliin nating isagawa ang mga minimum public health standards na ito para sa kaligtasan natin at ng ating pamilya."
Guido David of the OCTA Research said the public's non-compliance to minimum public health standards may lead to surges as what was seen in other countries.
"May mga iba't ibang patterns sa surges at may countries, lalo na yung hindi sumusunod sa minimum health protocols ang naka-experience nito," said Año.
Año said the public's compliance with minimum public health standards is critical in the efforts to lower COVID-19 transmission in the country. He emphasized that everyone's discipline in abiding by the health protocols can be a step towards avoiding the current surge that is sweeping Hong Kong.
According to some reports, the COVID-19 surge in Hong Kong forced some public hospitals to place patient beds outside of the hospital premises and pushed transport system and supermarkets to cut services.
He likewise encouraged local government units (LGUs) to ensure that minimum public health standards are consistently enforced in their jurisdictions even amid lower COVID-19 restrictions in most parts of the country.
"We call on our LGUs to still be on top of the implementation of MPHS even in the barangays. Huwag po nating hayaang masanay ang ating mga kababayan na hindi sumusunod sa ating mga health protocol kahit na malaking bilang na ng ating populasyon ang bakunado," Año said.
As of February 28, 63.3 million Filipinos are already fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with more than 10.2 million receiving their booster shots. Meanwhile, 61.6 million have been administered with their initial dose.
"Gaya ng sabi ng OCTA Research, mahalaga na patuloy nating i-practice ang minimum public health standards dahil marami pa rin sa ating mga kababayan ang hindi pa nababakunahan. We are imploring everyone's participation in complying with the minimum public health standards," he said. DILG
