Follow us for updates
© 2021 reportr.world
Read the Story →

PH Second to Last Place Again in Bloomberg's COVID Resilience Rankings

As Delta variant sweeps the world.
by Erwin Colcol
Sep 5, 2021
Photo/s: Jerome Ascaño
Shares

The Philippines placed second to the last again out of 53 countries in Bloomberg's list of "best and worst places" to be during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Delta variant set back the world's reopening plans.

The country slipped three spots to the 52nd place in August, the same as June, ahead of Malaysia in the 53rd place. Rounding up the bottom five are Thailand in the 49th spot, Vietnam in the 50th spot, and Indonesia in the 51st spot.

The Bloomberg index is a monthly snapshot of how 53 of the world's biggest economies handle the pandemic. Norway kept the top spot in August, making it the best place to be in during the pandemic,

Bloomberg noted how the bottom 10 in the list, including the Philippines, are dominated by developing economies "whose vaccine rollouts are lagging, reflecting how the world’s poorest are largely facing delta with no shield of inoculation."

Continue reading below ↓

"This inequality is likely to only worsen going forward, as rich nations announce plans to administer booster shots for fully vaccinated people, hoovering up even more of the scarce supply," it added.

More from reportrworld

In the Philippines, over 14 million people have so far been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is only 18.44% of the 77 million target population six months into the nationwide vaccination rollout.

Continue reading below ↓
Recommended Videos

The spread of the Delta coronavirus variant also upended the success of many countries in curbing infections, Bloomberg said.

New Zealand, the longest-reigning No. 1 in the COVID Resilience Ranking when it was first released in December, fell 26 spots "after the nation’s domestic life went from the most relaxed to the strictest."

The U.S. and Israel, which led other nations in terms of vaccination and reopening of borders, also dropped 20 and 19 spots, respectively, as the Delta variant caused a surge of new infections.

Continue reading below ↓

The World Health Organization said Delta is now the dominant coronavirus variant in the Philippines, citing Department of Health data showing that 70% of positive COVID test results were found to be due to variant after genome sequencing.

"We encourage people to take the vaccine because we know it is safe, effective, it will save you from severe disease and potential death," WHO Philippines representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said.

On Saturday, the Philippines tallied 20,741 new COVID cases, the third time in the week that the daily jump exceeded 20,000.

Reportr is now on Quento. Download the app or visit the Quento website for more articles and videos from Reportr and your favorite websites.

Latest Headlines
Read Next
Recent News
So victims can avail of legal remedies.
His colleagues urge authorities to bring his killers to justice.
Representing transformative times.
The news. So what? Subscribe to the newsletter that explains what the news means for you.
The email address you entered is invalid.
Thank you for signing up to On Three, reportr's weekly newsletter delivered to your mailbox three times a week. Only the latest, most useful and most insightful reads.
By signing up to reportr.world newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.