Gives assurance gov’t is doing its job
(Eagle News)–The Palace on Saturday, March 7, called on the public to be calm, refrain from sharing unverified information, and exercise protective measures against the novel coronavirus.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement after the Department of Health confirmed two more COVID-19 cases in the country.
One was a 48-year-old Filipino male with a travel history from Japan and the other, a 62-year-old Filipino male in San Juan City with no travel history abroad.
He, however, frequently visited a Muslim prayer hall and has hypertension and diabetes.
“We call on everyone to be the voice of calm and sobriety. The DOH, which has been following established international protocols, continues to monitor persons under investigation. Teams have been formed to do contact tracing,” Panelo said.
He also asked the public to “be scrupulous in reading informative materials and not to share unverified and unofficial information that may only cause undue panic among the population.”
He said the Department of Health, along with other agencies of the government, “provides our people with the latest updates relative to the impact of this global health scare.”
He said President Rodrigo Duterte has, after all, “categorically mandated” all government agencies “to be absolutely transparent to the Filipino people” on the health issue “at the very outset of the surge of news reports concerning COVID-19.”
“Local transmission, if and when it happens in the country, would thus be unequivocally reported to the people,” Panelo said.
He said as for the foreigners who were reported to be positive for COVID-19 outside the Philippines, DOH “has been in close coordination with their counterparts on these foreigners who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, and two out of the three of them may have possibly contracted the infection in another country.”
He said the case of the third foreign national is “still being verified by DOH officials.”
“The Office of the President finally wishes to remind the people to practice protective measures to guard themselves against COVID-19, such as frequent and proper hand-washing, observing proper cough etiquette and maintaining distance from individuals experiencing respiratory symptoms, among others,” he said.
“By performing these safeguards, we likewise do our share in our community’s fight against this disease,” he added.
