MANILA—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday there is no need to change the country’s status on COVID-19 after the World Health Organization lifted the public health emergency status on the disease.

“We did not restore the emergency status of the Philippines. Matagal na, last year pa,” Marcos told reporters.

“So we don’t need to do anything. We are already on normal footing. Nauna pa tayo sa kanila. And in terms of the – also the requirement that we used to have for a valid vaccine certificate, wala matagal ng tinanggal ‘yun.

“So now we have the e-Pass that’s much easier to use. That was for – that really was so that to make the ease of travel better. But we did that a few months back,” he said.

In October, Marcos said that the Philippines would stop treating the COVID-19 pandemic “as an emergency” but would not lift the nationwide state of calamity as the government has yet to settle several non-health issues.

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