As the national case trends continue to decline, the Department of Health (DOH) welcomes a positive outlook on the government’s pandemic response.
DOH data showed a further decline in the average daily cases in the recent week. The nationwide risk classification remains low with a negative 49% two-week growth rate in the recent weeks, and moderate average daily attack rate at 1.55 cases per 100,000 population. Out of 121 provinces, highly-urbanized cities and independent component cities in the country, 89% are under Alert Level 2 with minimal to low risk case classification, while the remaining are under Alert Level 3, and with 1 province at Alert Level 4.
Based on the information generated from Our World in Data of the Oxford University as of November 22, 2021, the Philippines has lower confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths per one million population compared to some neighboring countries in ASEAN.
Moreover, data from the World Health Organization, as of November 23, 2021, also show that the country ranked 65th in terms of countries with most number of active cases, 134th in terms of COVID-19 cases per million, 120th in terms of deaths per million, and 93rd in terms of case fatality rate. These rankings have improved since the end of case peaks recorded in the country last September 2021.
“DOH had remained resolute and persistent, working diligently at both policy and operational levels anchored on the whole-of-government, whole-of-society, and whole-of-systems approach. Our agile decision making is always data-driven and informed by best available evidence, and always centered on what is best for the safety and health of Filipinos,” said Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III.
While no government has perfected its COVID-19 response, the DOH, together with the rest of the National Government Agencies and Local Government Units, continued to adapt policies and implement measures based on case trends and projections, available resources, and evolving evidence.
“Despite the limited health systems capacity, we were able to achieve better health outcomes because of the whole-of-nation approach. And as we continue to work towards realizing the vision of a Universal Health Care for all Filipinos, we would like to dedicate our wins against the pandemic to our healthcare workers who have selflessly devoted their lives in providing both COVID and non-COVID-19 health care to Filipinos,” added Sec. Duque.
With the availability of vaccines as an added defense against the disease, the Philippines is also in a bid to protect more of its population through vaccination. With the three-day National Vaccination Day approaching, the DOH called on the public to take to heart the bayanihan spirit and work together to reach the goal of 15 million individuals inoculated during the event.
“Let’s get ready for Bayanihan Bakunahan! We encourage all Filipinos to volunteer during this occasion and work together to inoculate more of our kababayan for us to safely reopen the economy,” said Sec. Duque. (DOH)
