WHO ends COVID-19 emergency declaration but DOH warns against complacency

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an end to the classification of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), but the Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire warns Filipinos not to be complacent.

Vergeire notes that while 96% of new cases are mild, asymptomatic, or moderate and hospital utilization remains low, daily average infections have nearly doubled to around 1,400 cases.

The DOH emphasizes that the lifting of the PHEIC status does not mean the pandemic is over and urges continued vigilance.