President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. told the nation Monday that there would be "no more lockdowns" as he promised to strengthen the country's health infrastructure and roll out more booster shots to help Filipinos live with the coronavirus.
A stronger COVID response would mean that while variants and sub-variants drive surges, the number of severe cases would not overwhelm the health system. The Alert Level restrictions will stay for now, he said.
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"Hindi natin kakayanin ang isa pang lockdown. Wala na tayong gagawing lockdown," Marcos said in his State of the Nation Address.
"Kahit tumaas muli mananatiling mababa ang bilang ng mga na-opsital at bilang ng mga namamatay," he said.
"Unti-unti tayong masasanay na nariyan ang virus pero hindi na seryoso ang banta sa ating buhay," he said.