By Katrina Gracia Consebido
Infectious Diseases Expert Dr. Rontgene Solante on Monday, Sept. 19, reiterated the importance of wearing face masks after the government relaxed face mask mandate.
In the Laging Handa briefing, Solante said that the endemicity of the COVID-19 pandemic “is not yet near” for the country due to the rising cases of COVID-19, contradicting the statement of the World Health Organization.
“Kung matatanaw man natin, hindi pa siguro within the next two or three months kasi mataas-taas o meron pa rin tayong kasong nakikita,” he said.
Solante encouraged the public to continue to wear their face masks even in open areas to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We have to be very careful and what we need is protect the vulnerable population, kasi nakikita natin sa mga hospital ngayon ang nadadala ‘yung mga vulnerable population,” he added.
As of Sept. 19, there are a total of 27,686 active cases of COVID-19 in the country. – gb
