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Opt for digital campaign events to avoid virus: NTF exec

By Lade Jean Kabagani

May 6, 2022, 6:35 pm

<p><strong>CROWD-DRAWER.</strong> Supporters of UniTeam flock to the Tagum City Hall grounds in in Davao del Norte on Thursday (May 5, 2022). Presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, were joined by their senatorial bets. <em>(PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.)</em></p>

CROWD-DRAWER. Supporters of UniTeam flock to the Tagum City Hall grounds in in Davao del Norte on Thursday (May 5, 2022). Presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, were joined by their senatorial bets. (PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.)

MANILA – The election period has reached fever pitch with miting de avance and various motorcades set until Saturday, the last day of campaign activities.

As the Covid-19 crisis remains a pandemic despite the country’s low-risk status, Dr. Ted Herbosa, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 medical adviser, advised that it’s much better to join election-related activities via virtual means.

“If you are a senior citizen and with comorbidity, my advice for you is just to join through television or radios during the miting de avance because you might put yourself at risk. We have to be risk-free to avoid hospitalization and further infection. It is very important,” Herbosa said, partly in Filipino, at the “Laging Handa” public briefing on Friday.

Symptomatic individuals must likewise stay home, he added.

Herbosa said the current test positivity rate is still at 1.3 percent, which is a very low-risk classification, despite the various mass gatherings of candidates.

The country’s average daily Covid-19 rate is below 200, though there is a spike of active cases in some provinces that are under the Alert Level 2 system.

“So far, no outbreak has been reported. There is a very low incidence. I think our massive vaccination program since 2021 has really worked,” Herbosa said.

He thus reminded that vaccination is the best weapon against the virus.

“You should get vaccinated if you don’t want to be hospitalized and get infected again, especially with the new variants,” Herbosa said.

To date, more than 63.3 million Filipinos have completed the primary series of Covid-19 vaccines, representing 76 percent of the country's target for population protection.

“This might be the reason why we don’t see another spike of cases in the country and if there is, the surge happens only in those areas with below 50 percent of vaccination coverage,” Herbosa said. (PNA)


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