‘… while the new COVID variant is known to be milder, the United Nations agency is “starting to see a very worrying increase in deaths in most regions of the world.”’
DENMARK made the first bold move among members of the European Union to lift all of its domestic COVID-19 curbs despite record numbers of cases of the milder Omicron variant. Masks are no longer required in shops, restaurants and on public transport. Limits on the number of people at indoor gatherings and social distancing measures have also been scrapped.
Authorities said the new policy was taken because 80 percent of the population over the age of five have had two vaccinations and over 60 percent have been given a third booster jab. Other countries in the continent are having their eyes trained on Denmark, contemplating on if they should be the next to take the plunge.
Yesterday, the World Health Organization doused cold water on this regional optimism on public health policy, saying it is too early for countries to either declare victory over COVID-19 or give up attempts to halt transmission.
WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “It is premature for any country to either surrender or to declare victory. This virus is dangerous, and it continues to evolve before our very eyes.”
“We’re concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines and because of Omicron’s high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible, and no longer necessary,” Tedros said.
Current statistics and pronouncements by the WHO may be used as a guide by Philippine authorities in crafting the best COVID-19 policies for the nation. The WHO said Omicron is so contagious that nearly 90 million COVID cases have been reported worldwide since its discovery in southern Africa two-and-a-half months ago. It added that while the new COVID variant is known to be milder, the United Nations agency is “starting to see a very worrying increase in deaths in most regions of the world.”
This latest admonition from the WHO should be thoroughly and seriously studied by the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) in Malacañang, in the face of incessant bidding from some sectors to open up the economy further.
