Manila, May 20 -- Covid-19 is once again making international headlines as densely populated Hong Kong and Singapore report a surge in infections over the past weeks -raising public health concerns across the region about pandemic preparedness.

Here in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) has allayed fears of another surge of Covid-19 cases, noting that it sees no cause for alarm. As of May 3, 2025, the DOH said it has observed an 87 percent decrease in cases and fatalities from 2024 with 1,774 cases reported this year compared to 14,074 cases last year.

The current Covid-19 case fatality rate also remains relatively low at 1.13 percent. The DOH has also observed a "slight decrease in reported cases over the past three to fou...