MANILA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos vowed to strengthen the healthcare system capacity, and impose no more coronavirus lockdowns in the country, during his first state of the nation address.
"Beyond the pandemic's issues, the need for a stronger health care system is self-evident. We must bring medical services to the people and not wait for them to come to our hospitals and healthcare centers," he said.
Marcos said that one of the cornerstones of a strong healthcare system is the provision of competent and efficient medical professionals. "We will exert all efforts to improve the welfare of our doctors, nurses, and other medical frontliners," he said.
The Philippines reported 2,778 new Covid-19 infections on Monday night (July 26), bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,755,403.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 27,625, and 11 more people died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 60,694.
The DOH said the country's hospitalization rate remains low despite the sustained case spike.
"The DOH observed a slow and smaller upward trend of COVID-19 admissions over the past week. Most of these admissions were asymptomatic and mild," DOH Officer-in-Charge Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
"We will not declare lockdowns anymore. We need to balance the health of Filipinos and the economy," Marcos said in his state of the nation speech.
The Philippines reported the highest single-day tally on Jan. 15, with 39,004 new cases.
The country has seen four Covid-19 waves since the pandemic began in 2020. The Philippines, with around 110 million population, has fully vaccinated over 71.4 million people. - Xinhua
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