MANILA – National Task Force (NTF) against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) chief implementer secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. is in favor of extending the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) after its scheduled end on April 30.
“We can’t rush to normalcy. Kailangan dahan-dahan at calibrated ang ating mga hakbang,” he said in a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.
Galvez cited the situation of Singapore,
which on Tuesday recorded 1,111 new infections for a total COVID-19 cases count
to 9,125, after they did not implement ECQ despite having mass testing.
“Bakit nangyari ito (sa Singapore)? Bagama’t ang pamahalaan ng Singapore ay nagpatupad ng mass testing at
social distancing, hindi ito nagdeklara ng
enhanced community quarantine o lockdown sa
buong bansa,” he added.
“According to science experts, the lockdown imposed in Luzon has been effective
in curbing the spread of the disease,” he added. “Masuwerte po tayo mayroon po tayong lockdown.”
Meanwhile, World Health Organization Western Pacific Region director Dr.
Takeshi Kasai advised the gradual lifting of lockdown rules to continue curbing
the spread of the coronavirus disease.
In a virtual press conference, Kasai said that while there is no one-size-fits-all
solution to stop the spread of COVID-19, there are key principles that need to
be assessed before considering completely lifting community quarantine rules.
“The lockdowns imposed by several
countries have proved to be effective in slowing down and reducing the
transmission,” he added. “We must also remember why we are doing
this. We are doing this because we want to protect the people.”
Department of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, for her part, said
that it is still too early to tell if the Philippines has flattened the curve
of the COVID-19 infections.
“It is still too early to say but we are studying the numbers,” Vergeire
said in an interview with ABS CBN News Channel on Wednesday. “Cases of the
respiratory disease now take 5 days to double from the previous 3 days before
the lockdown.”
“Whether or not the lockdown is extended, the Philippines will have a new
normal where we will always practice social distancing, the always washing of
hands and other non-pharmaceutical interventions,” she added. “We all
know that the virus will not be removed or the virus will still be here by May
1.”
President Rodrigo Duterte has placed Luzon on ECQ on April 15 in an aim to curb
the spread of COVID-19. It has been extended until the end of the month with
the confirmed cases not slowing down.
President Duterte will issue his verdict today on the fate of the ECQ in Luzon
to give Filipinos ample time to prepare for possible changes, according to Sen.
Christopher “Bong” Go.
Duterte will meet with the country’s pandemic task force on the same day, he
added. There is a possibility that the enhanced community quarantine will be
modified.
Based on Department of Health’s data on Tuesday, the Philippines has recorded
6,599 coronavirus infections. The tally includes 437 people who succumbed to
COVID-19 and 654 recoveries./PN
