By ANALOU DE VERA
The Department of Health (DoH) urged local government units (LGUs) Friday to strictly enforce the minimum public health standards as some families may tend to visit different Christmas attractions during the holiday season.
DoH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that failure to adhere to the health protocols may result in the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.
“We encourage local officials na kung may ganitong pagtitipon, maiwasan sana ang pagkukumpol-kumpol ng tao and magkaroon ng alternative means of celebrations (We encourage local officials that if there are activities, prevent people from crowding and have alternative means of celebrations),” she said.
“We are constantly reminding them of the possible surge. We are constantly reminding them that it is inevitable if we cannot prevent clustering of people while not complying with the minimum health standards,” she added.
Meanwhile, Vergeire clarified that the DoH is only discouraging the use of whistles and trumpets during the New Year’s celebration but not declaring to ban such items.
“Hindi man maipagbawal sa pagbenta, sana ang DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) naman ay makatulong sa pagenforce na hindi muna magamit ang mga ganitong klaseng pagpapaingay ngayong darating na bagong taon (Although we cannot ban the selling of such items, we hope that the DILG will help enforce the policy that such types of noisemakers cannot be used this New Year),” she said.
“We know that this can really increase the virus that can be expelled to the air and can be transmitted to those facing the one using the trumpet or whistle,” she added.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines increased to 447,039 after 1,504 new infections were confirmed by the DoH Friday.
There are 29,001 active cases or those currently sick – 85.5 percent are mild, 6.7 percent are asymptomatic, 2.4 percent are severe, 0.25 percent are moderate, and 4.8 percent are in critical condition.
Davao City had the most number of new cases with 122, Rizal with 85, Quezon City with 80, City of Santiago with 67, and Bulacan with 64.
The DoH reported eight new deaths, bringing the country’s COVID-19 death toll to 8,709.
Two-hundred seventy three recovered, bringing the tally of recoveries nationwide to 409,329.
