The National Task Force Against COVID-19 will use the 15-day timeout to strengthen the government’s strides against the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
NTF Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez stated that workplaces or industries are the most critical areas in transmitting COVID-19.
“We saw that there are grave violations in terms of observing minimum health standards, in terms of ‘yung tinatawag na nag-e-establish sila ng canteen, ‘yung kanilang tinatawag na mga, mayroon silang (in terms of establishing canteens and they also have) smoking areas that became the source of contamination.”
Sec.Galvez also said that based on data, transmission happens in families in informal settlements due to the lack of social distancing.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) will provide additional 3,000 beds in We Heal as One Centers in Metro Manila, Region 3 and Region 4A.
There will also be more hospital beds at the East Avenue Medical Center and Quirino Hospital. The number of hotel rooms as quarantine facilities will also be doubled to accommodate more patients.
At the start of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine, around 1,000 individuals have been isolated in Metro Manila and Region 4A.
Sec. Galvez admitted that two weeks of MECQ is not enough to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases but the NTF will continue to implement the strategies created to eradicate the threat of the disease. – Report from Bea Bernardo
