The Philippines climbed from 57th place to 33rd place in the Tokyo-based news magazine Nikkei Asia’s Covid-19 recovery rankings.
The country placed 57th last December 2021.
According to the magazine’s May 31 report, the Philippines, together with Vietnam, posted their “best performances” last month for maintaining a low Covid-19 infection count while also managing to lessen restrictions.
Other country rankings according to the magazine are as follows: Switzerland (38), Israel (44), Japan (53), the United Kingdom (58), Canada (60), Australia and Hong Kong (71), New Zealand (75), Singapore (79), United States (89), and China (93).
The Department of Health (DOH) welcomed this achievement, recognizing the contributions of BIDA campaign, and Prevent, Detect, Isolation, Treat, Reintegration (PDITR) strategy.
“The DOH has always been aware that the Covid-19 pandemic response is more marathon than sprint,” outgoing Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement.
“We are carefully pacing ourselves using the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, led by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”
Moreover, the health department also expressed its gratitude to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and Philippine Genome Center (PGC) in detecting, reporting, and isolating any new Covid-19 sub-variants such as Omicron BA 2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5.
“As the current administration ends, we are confident that the next administration and its incoming Secretary of Health will continue or even improve our march to recovery in the New Normal.”
Nikkei Asia’s report was based on data from Our World in Data; Google Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports; Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker, Cirium, and Nikkei Asia Research.
— Ronald Espartinez