The members of the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force will be assembled to tackle the possible changes in the minimum health standards in the country, said the Department of Health on Friday, following the World Health Organization's announcement that COVID-19 no longer constitutes a global health emergency.
According to the DOH, it will convene the members of the IATF for Emerging Infectious Diseases to talk and reassess policies and other guidelines affected by the declaration, assuring the Filipinos that all factors in determining their next action in line with the WHO's proclamation will be considered and discussed for the President's approval.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement to reporters earlier, claiming that the epidemic had killed "at least 20 million" people, approximately three times the official death toll of seven million.
He cautioned that the decision did not indicate the threat had passed and that the emergency status might be renewed if the circumstances changed.
On January 30, 2020, the UN health agency labeled the disaster a "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC).
That was just a few weeks after the mystery new viral disease was discovered in China, and there had been fewer than 100 cases and no deaths reported outside of the country.
