By Ma. Teresa Montemayor | Philippine News Agency
The Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will meet to discuss and reassess policies and other guidelines after the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, May 5, ended the global emergency status for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
WHO’s proclamation “is an acknowledgment of our effective and collaborative COVID-19 response and concerted efforts to fully recover and reopen our economy,” the health department said in a statement released Friday night.
“The DOH will convene the members of the (IATF-EID) to discuss and reassess policies and other guidelines affected by the declaration,” the statement read, without indicating any date.
The health agency assured the public that all factors determining its next action in line with the WHO’s proclamation would be considered and discussed for the approval of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The DOH has logged 4,092,158 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 66,444 deaths nationwide since Jan. 3, 2020. More than 78.4 million have been fully vaccinated as of March 20, 2023.
Meanwhile, more than 23.8 million have received their first booster dose and almost 4.4 million got their second booster shot.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the declaration of the end to the emergency status means COVID-19 is no longer a global health threat.
COVID-19 as a “public health emergency of international concern” is the highest level of alert that has been in place since Jan. 30, 2020.