Malacaῆang on Monday said stricter lockdowns such as an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) are not possible for the month of March amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque stood by his earlier statement that the government has managed the COVID-19 situation well, especially before the current increase of cases.
“Napakahirap po talagang magsarado ng ekonomiya muli. Pero ang binabantayan po talaga natin, ‘yung datos hindi lang sa pagtaas ng kaso, kung hindi yung healthcare utilization rate natin (It is very difficult to close the economy again. What we are closely monitoring are data on case increase and healthcare utilization rate),” Sec. Roque explained.
He added that there is no decision yet on what will happen come April, citing the current reproduction number of COVID-19 at 1.9.
Sec. Roque, who also tested positive for COVID-19, is urging the public to double efforts in practicing minimum health standards amid the threat of the new strain. He clarified that the surge should not only be attributed to the opening of the economy.
“October tayo nagbukas ng ekonomiya, pababapa pa nga ang mga kaso. Matapos ang Christmas Day, pababa pa rin ang mga kaso (We opened the economy in October and the cases were going down then. After Christmas Day, cases were still on a downtrend). We cannot discount the mutation of the virus as one of the grounds for this surge,” he pointed out.
Exactly a year after the imposition of a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, the Palace cited that there are now 229 COVID-19 testing laboratories with 39,117 average daily testing output in the country. This is a big jump from the lone testing site in early March 2020.
Over nine million or 8.4 percent of the population have already been tested. At least 10,000 isolation facilities were established nationwide. There are 99,910 total beds of temporary treatment and monitoring facilities as of March 2021, up from the 33,384 last April 2020.
Meanwhile, the Sputnik V of Russia’s Gamaleya Institute is expected to be issued an emergency use approval for its vaccine after submitting requirements to the FDA.
– Report from Mela Lesmoras, PTV News Online
