IATF studying if 1-week ECQ enough to bring numbers down
(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte will be announcing in his Talk to the Nation Monday night, March 29, what will be the community protocols for the month of April as the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) hold meetings studying the next moves that should be undertaken to arrest the COVID-19 spike.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also cited projections on COVID-19 cases that showed scenarios, including a sharp drop virus cases if the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) protocol will be extended for another two weeks, or until April 18. In the projection, the COVID-19 cases would only reach below 500,000 in the greate Metro Manila area or the NCR-plus bubble.
But the ECQ imposed from today, Monday, March 29 until April 4 in the so-called National Capital Region (NCR) plus areas including Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal would already bring down significantly the number of COVID-19 cases, that the projection is that the cases in the NCR plus area would only reach 550,000 to 600,000, Roque said.
He noted that the IATF recommendation to the President is now being carefully arrived at. It involves a careful balancing act as they consider not only the need to arrest the dramatic rise in cases these past few weeks, as well as the need for continued economic movement so that more people could continue to earn a living.
“Itong decision making process ay napakaselan po talaga,” Roque said.
He said that the President will attend the IATF meeting tonight after a ceremony where he will welcome the arrival of around 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccines from China at the Villamor Air Base.
The announcement on whether to extend the ECQ or not, or to go for other quarantine protocols will be made in President Duterte’s address to the nation later tonight, Roque said.
-Importance of observing minimum public health standards-
Malacanang and health experts stressed the importance of strictly observing minimum health protocols as COVID-19 cases continued to rise because of the spread of new highly infectious variants in the country.
Dr. Althea De Guzman, the officer-in-charge of the Department of Health’s Epidemiology Bureau, noted that the allocayed ICU beds in Metro Manila and in other regions are already filling up because of the rapid rise in cases.
-Alarming faster rise in cases
De Guzman notes the faster rise in COVID-19 cases compared to the previous wave. The cases since mid-March of this year had already surpassed the peak cases last year. The cases since mid-March were even almost double the number of cases in the peak period last year.
“Dito po sa graph na ito, pinakikita ang alarming situation natin. Ang ating peak nitong gitna ng Marso ay humigit nap o sa peak last year. Halos doble nap o siya. At yung mga bagong kaso sumunod sa peak na ito ay malapit nang maabot ang pinakamataas na bar,” she said.
The DOH official thus stresses the importance of adhering to the minimum public health standards of wearing face masks and face shield, maintaining social distancing, aside from decreasing mobility.
“The ECQ is not only to restrict mobility, ito po ay dapat samahan ng pag- adhere sa minimum public health standards,” De Guzman said.
She also encouraged more people to undergo COVID-19 testing, so that those who tested positive can be immediately isolated.
(Eagle News Service)
