By Pearl Gumapos
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday (Aug. 30) said the government must recalibrate its pandemic response after the Department of Health on the same day recorded a total of 22,366 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number of cases so far.
“We need to recalibrate our response,” Duterte said during his public address to the nation.
“Although we have seen the positive effect of the ECQ in NCR which lowered the reproduction rate of the virus, we are also evaluating whether granular or localized lockdowns would be best for our current situation,” he said.
Duterte added that it’s not only the Philippines that’s experiencing an increasing number of cases.
“There’s a rise of COVID-19 cases all over. Hirap ang America ngayon. Turkey, maraming patay. Saudi Arabia, mas marami ang patay. Ang atin, hawa lang. Ang patay natin, hindi masyado ganoon karami,” Duterte said.
The President said that to help mitigate the number of cases, NCR and its surrounding areas will be under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until Sept. 7.
“For the meantime, the NCR and surrounding areas will remain under a modified ECQ until Sept. 7. This will allow us more time to address the increasing bed occupancy and the treatment facilities as well,” he said.
“Let us continue to be safe from COVID-19 and its variants by continuing to observe our minimum public health standards. Mask, hugas, iwas,” he added. –rir
