The World Health Organization pointed out the Philippines as one of the few countries that has not reported any new cases of COVID-19, implying that the disease can indeed be contained.
The Philippines has confirmed only three cases of COVID-19. A number of "persons under investigation" are being tested for potentially having COVID-19, but as of February 28, no other cases have been confirmed.
In February 26, World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that the new cases outside of China were exceeding the number of new cases inside China for the first time. Ghebreyesus explained that the worst period of the epidemic occurred between January 23 and February 2, and the number of new cases inside China have since plateaued and are steadily declining.
Beyond China's borders, Middle Eastern, European, and Asian countries are experiencing spikes in new cases of COVID-19. These nations include Iran, South Korea, Italy and more. Meanwhile, new cases have not been reported in countries like the Philippines, Cambodia, Belgium, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and more.
According to Ghebreyesus, the goal of every country with positive cases must be to contain the virus.
In the Philippines, Filipinos are now discouraged from traveling to South Korea, which is the most affected country outside of China. The government is also said to be mulling over banning travel to Japan and Italy considering the rapid spike of cases in each country. Meanwhile, OFW deployment has dropped as migrant workers are being extra cautious and taking extended leaves to avoid catching or spreading the virus.
There are currently 83,719 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world. The casualties have reached 2,858, while 36,652 patients have fully recovered.
In the Philippines, a total of 531 persons under investigation tested negative for COVID-19 as of today, February 28, according to the Department of Health, with 40 pending test results.