MANILA – Vice President Leni Robredo said it was possible to “suppress” the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) even if a vaccine is not yet developed.
Nineteen countries have limited their new COVID-19 infections to five or fewer per million population per day, Robredo said citing a study of leading medical journal “The Lancet.”
Mentioned were the countries Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, New Zealand, Uganda, Togo, Pakistan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Uruguay, South Korea, Finland, Cuba, and Rwanda.
According to the journal, COVID-19 “can and should” be suppressed through non-pharmaceutical interventions such as wearing of face masks, social distancing, banning mass gatherings, and protecting the vulnerable population.
“Ipinapakita sa table na ‘to na possible naman ma-suppress kahit wala pang vaccine. If 19 countries were able to do it, no reason why we can’t,” the Vice President said.
“This study was done using August data. Our September numbers are getting better compared to our August numbers,” explained Robredo adding that there is a “moderate transmission” of COVID-19 in the Philippines with 37.5 new infections and 0.5 new deaths per million per day in August.
“But, perhaps, it would even be better if we set weekly or monthly targets. Para naman ‘yung assessment natin would depend on how near we are to our targets and we make sure that all our efforts are focused on achieving those targets,” she added./PN
