The Department of Health is hopeful that COVID-19 and Mpox will no longer be public health emergencies in 2023 amid a drop in the COVID-19 death toll worldwide.

Speaking to ABS-CBN's Sakto, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said her office is very hopeful that public health emergencies of the 2 illnesses will be lifted soon following a World Health Organization declaration.

• WHO eyes end to COVID and Mpox emergencies in 2023

"We still need to be very cautious. Titingnan natin kung makita nating patuloy na bumababa ang critical at namamatay," she said, referring to the COVID-19 infection and death rate.

Vergeire said COVID-19 infections in the Philippines are rising as more Filipinos with COVID symptoms choose to use antigen tests or self-isolate without seeing a doctor. However, she said the COVID numbers cannot be considered critical since hospitals are still able to manage these cases.

"What is important now is the number of the critical cases is not going up and the hospitals can manage the admissions," she said.

The DOH OIC said the health department continues to do genomic biosurveillance in the country but is no longer giving it focus "because no matter what subvariant comes in, the system can cope with it because of the vaccines and the hospitals can cope."

• After three years, COVID 'here to stay'

She urged those who test positive for COVID-19 must always wear a mask and quarantine.

"We have alot of other illnesses like trangkaso, influenza. Flu is prevalent now because of change of weather," she said.

On the Mpox illness, she said the Philippines has only detected four cases, with the last one discharged in September 15.

• WHO renames monkeypox to avoid stigma

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier said the weekly COVID-19 death toll was now around a fifth of what it was a year ago.

"Last week, less than 10,000 people lost their lives. That's still 10,000 too many and there is still a lot that all countries can do to save lives," he told a press conference.

"But we have come a long way. We are hopeful that at some point next year, we will be able to say that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency."

The WHO's emergency committee, which advises Tedros on declarations of public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC), will be discussing what the end of the emergency phase might look like when they meet in January, he added.

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