Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque claimed anew on Tuesday that the country is winning the battle against COVID-19 after the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Disease Center reported that the Philippines ranks second with the highest number of cases among Southeast Asian nations.
“Naniniwala pa rin po ako, at nais ko maniwala na tayo po ay nagwawagi pa rin, dahil nga po napababa na natin ang mga namamatay sa sakit na ito. Napababa natin ‘yung pagkalat ng sakit na ito (I still believe, and I want to believe that we are winning since we have brought down the number of fatalities. We decreased transmission). So I will always say na we are winning against COVID-19,” Secretary Roque insisted.
Roque pointed out it is not unexpected since there is still no cure for the disease. He added that the testing strategy of the country has been strengthened and the government has laid out measures to deal with the spike in cases. As of July 3, 2020, the testing capacity in the country reached 74,304.
“Nag-meeting po kami ng mga mayors ng Metro Manila. Alam naman po nila kung saan ‘yung mga areas na nagiging marami na naman ang cases ng COVID-19. At aktibo po nilang sinasarado ito sang-ayon po sa ating polisiya, na instead of community lockdowns, magkakaroon po tayo ng localized and granular lockdowns (We had a meeting with the Metro Manila Mayors. They know the areas with high COVID-19 case count. They are actively closing those places, in accordance with our policy to have localized and granular lockdowns instead of community lockdowns),” he stated.
The IATF will have another meeting today which will be followed by President Duterte’s public address. Secretaries Roque, Carlito Galvez Jr., Francisco Duque III, Eduardo Aῆo, and Delfin Lorenzana are also expected to report to the public.
– Report from Mela Lesmoras
