MANILA - Filipinos should remain vigilant against another "inevitable" COVID-19 surge, a World Health Organization official said on Friday, which marked the second anniversary of the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic.

The public needs to "remain on alert" as virus surges in other parts of the world might result in a new variant, said Dr. Rajendra Prasav Yadav, acting WHO Representative to the Philippines.

The WHO has yet to determine whether the "deltacron" variant, a combination of the delta and omicron variants, is more dangerous or transmissible, Yadav said.

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"When we start lowering our guards and masks, this is a disaster because we’re seeing the vaccination pace slow down considerably in the past few days. It is too early to declare victory against the virus. We need to remain vigilant and continue to exercise caution," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"We are seeing a huge surge in cases in the Western Pacific region... When we have surge of cases anywhere in the world we have risk of developing a new variant of concern and as we know from our past experience such variant can come to the Philippines so we have to remain on our guards," he added.

Living with the pandemic does not mean becoming passive as another wave of infections is "inevitable," Yadav said.

"We have to be actively careful, stay alert and get ready for the next wave, which I think is inevitable. As the vaccine-induced immunity and natural immunity wanes, it’s very likely we’ll have another wave. We’ll have to live with the virus, but cautiously," he said.

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The elderly and immunocompromised are advised against participating in mass gatherings such as campaign sorties, Yadav said.

"The WHO and all of us respect people's rights to engage in civic activities like elections. At the same time we have to advise these rallies or gatherings need to happen in outdoor areas, not stadiums which are enclosed," he said.

"We advised those immunocompromised, the elderly to stay home. They need to watch these events online if possible."

It is important for the public to wear their mask properly and maintain physical distancing if good ventilation cannot be ensured, Yadav said, when asked about the return to on-site workplaces.

"We have to remember that the infections happen more easily when we’re eating food together or when we lower our mask to eat that’s when we're more vulnerable. We should eat at our desks rather than our canteens," he said.

The Philippines has logged some 3.6 million COVID-19 cases, with at least 57,182 deaths.

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A decline in infections has allowed government to place Metro Manila and 38 other areas under the lowest pandemic alert level since March, which allowed businesses to operate at full capacity while keeping the mandatory use of masks.

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