The Department of Health (DOH) states that it is too early to say that the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) curve has been flattened despite the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine. This is due to the number of factors to consider such as the increased number of testing capacity and a more strengthened healthcare system.
However, the rise in the number of cases has slowed down. The health department explains that the temporary scale down of the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) has affected the testing capacity. From 4, 000, it decreased to 2, 700 COVID-19 tests per day.
19 percent of the confirmed COVID-19 positive cases are health workers. In the recent data of the DOH, more than 1, 000 health workers have been infected by the virus, 26 of whom have lost their lives.
According to the DOH, the health workers may have contracted the virus outside the hospital and not because of the lack of PPEs. The World Health Organization (WHO) has initially stated that it will trace the cause of the high infection rate among health workers in the Philippines whether it is due to PPE shortage, the incorrect use of protective gears or the cramped health facilities.
Report from Mark Fetalco
