Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia | CDN Digital File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – “It’s about time.”
This was Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s comment when the World Health Organization (WHO) no longer considered COVID-19 a global health emergency.
On Friday, WHO declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic which, for three years, claimed over 3 million lives and wreaked economic havoc worldwide.
“COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,” the health institution said in a statement.
READ: WHO: COVID no longer global health emergency
Garcia welcomed WHO’s pronouncements.
She also said that the recent declaration should prompt stakeholders, including those whom she believed have benefitted from the pandemic, to finally listen.
“To people who continue to want to extend it [Covid-19], I don’t know, for their own selfish reasons perhaps, or for their own agenda. I hope they start listening to the World Health Organization. Siyaro naman sad,” she told reporters in a press interview.
Halfway through the pandemic in 2020, Garcia began opposing COVID-related restrictions, a position that was considered controversial back then. The governor believed that quarantine and other mobility restrictions have resulted in further economic decline.
Under her administration, Cebu province reopened its borders to local tourists. It was also the first local government in the country to drop COVID tests as conditions for entry.
“That is why Cebu was always leading the way in coming up with policies that took into consideration the balancing of lives and livelihoods. We led the way. There were those who objected, but now they are saying the same thing,” added Garcia.
Meanwhile, the national government announced that they are currently ‘reassessing’ the country’s pandemic policies following WHO’s announcement. With reports from Agence France-Presse, INQUIRER.net
/bmjo
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