“Sa consensus po namin, hindi pa naman official iyon, may meeting pa sa Sunday, karamihan po sa amin ay ang consensus ay manatili sa GCQ. Alam po natin na for the past weeks, for 3 weeks, pababa na, downtrend na po iyong ating new cases all over Metro Manila. Pero we have to sustain iyong ating mga strategy pati ang ating mga protocol. Naniniwala kami kung ito’y ida-downgrade natin sa MGCQ, baka hindi natin makuha ang sustainability at magkaroon na naman tayo ng rise. So sa aking palagay, kailangan manatili pa ng GCQ ang ating Metro Manila. (In our consensus, it is not official yet, since there is still a meeting on Sunday, but majority of us want to remain under GCQ. We all know for the past weeks, for 3 weeks, that the new cases all over Metro Manila are on the downtrend. However, we have to sustain our strategies and protocols. We believe that if [the classification] is downgraded to MGCQ, we might not achieve the sustainability and there might be a rise [in the number of cases] again. So I think we still need to remain under GCQ).”
In a press briefing Thursday morning, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega pointed out that the government’s decision on the quarantine classifications is based on data.
“Ang desisyon po niyan, ng IATF, it depends on iyong doubling time ng virus at saka iyong pangalawa, iyong critical utilization rate noong mga hospitals. (The IATF’s decision depends on the doubling time of the virus and the critical utilization rate of hospitals).”
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured that the government is taking all steps to control and stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). – Report from Mela Lesmoras
