Malacañang on Monday welcomed the improvement of the Philippines’ ranking in the latest Covid-19 Recovery Index, a global assessment of Covid-19 recovery of Tokyo-based news magazine Nikkei Asia.

Based on its June 3 report, the country placed 33rd in the Covid-19 Recovery ranking, a big jump from 57th place in November last year and last or 121st place in September last year.

“The Palace welcomes the latest Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index showing the Philippines climbing to 33rd spot in May 2022 from [November] 2021’s 57th spot,” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said in a press statement.

He said Nikkei Asia’s report reaffirms the “effective” recalibration of strategies of the Philippines in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.

Andanar cited measures such as shifting to the Alert Level System and opening of the country’s borders while strictly adhering to minimum public health standards, and ramping up Covid-19 vaccination efforts.

“We hope this trend would continue as we remain vigilant with the emergence of new variants while vigorously pursuing the economy’s full recovery,” he added.

Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III credited Filipinos’ “diligent” compliance with the minimum public health standards.

He also cited the capabilities of both the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Philippine Genome Center in detecting new variants and subvariants of Covid-19 virus.

According to Nikkei Asia, the Philippines and Vietnam logged their “best performances” in its Covid-19 Recovery Index for May, as “both countries managed to ease restrictions while keeping infections low.”

Nikkei Asia noted the consistent decline in new Covid-19 cases in the Philippines, with low to no confirmed deaths in recent weeks.

It also cited the move of the Philippine government to allow the resumption of businesses and face-to-face classes.

The Tokyo-based news magazine ranks 121 countries based on its infection management, vaccine rollouts, and social mobility. (PNA)