AFTER announcing a new record high number of infections in a single day, the Department of Health (DOH) renewed its call to suspend non-essential travel, strictly adhere to the minimum public health standards and stay at home during Holy Week.
In a statement Saturday, March 20, 2021, DOH urged the public to observe Holy Week through online masses.
"With the continued rise in the number of cases being observed in the country, along with the threat of increased transmission posed by the expected higher mobility over the upcoming Holy Week, the DOH strongly urges the public to stay at home and instead opt for online masses," the agency said.
It also called on each citizen to individually ensure minimal risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by strictly and consistently adhering to the minimum public health standards.
"The DOH further calls on everyone to MPHS. The public is called on to wear their masks properly, and to observe other preventive strategies, at all times and in all settings - even at home—in order to help reduce transmission," it said.
The DOH also urged all individuals experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 to immediately coordinate with their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) for appropriate management and referral for testing and isolation.
The DOH emphasized that the number one objective right now is to ensure care is not hampered nor delayed for Covid and non-Covid patients.
"To do this, we need to ensure that our hospitals do not get overwhelmed, so everyone must act with extreme vigilance and help reduce transmission by consistently adhering to our preventive measures, as well as following our quarantine and isolation protocols," it said.
On Saturday afternoon, the DOH confirmed 7,999 new cases of Covid-19, a new record high for the Philippines.
These were higher than the 7,103 cases on March 19 and the 2020 peak of 6,958 on August 10, 2020.
Earlier Saturday, the DOH also announced additional variant cases that brought the total to 479, of which 223 were B.1.1.7 (UK) cases, 152 were B.1.351 (South Africa) cases and 104 are P.3 cases.
The P.3 variant, which contains mutations found in both the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 cases, was first detected in Cebu in Central Visayas. (VoxPop Philippines from PR)