DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday, March 8, 2021, said a massive lockdown to give health workers a timeout is not on the table despite the rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
She said healthcare utilization across the country is still manageable, although there has been an increase in emergency room consultations and hospital admissions.
“When we went around nakita natin dumadami po talaga ang mga tao sa ER, ang may mga sintomas ng Covid. Pero to say that the system is overwhelmed? No,” she said in a virtual press briefing Monday.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, however, will review its decision to relax travel protocols, according to Secretary Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19.
Dizon said the IATF will also review its decision to allow the reopening of cinemas and other leisure and entertainment-related businesses in areas under general community quarantine.
"Ire-review po this week 'yan, sa mga susunod na araw ire-review po iyan ng IATF ang kanilang rekomendasyon dahil nga mahigit dumoble ang mga kaso since lumabas yung mga desisyon na 'yan," he said.
(That will be reviewed this week because cases have doubled since that decision was made.)
The IATF passed Resolution No. 101 on February 26, dropping the swab test and travel authority requirements for domestic travelers. The IATF also removed the requirement for a 14-day quarantine for travelers, unless they show symptoms of Covid-19.
On the part of the DOH, Vergeire said they were sticking to their recommendation to implement granular lockdowns.
“Localized response ang atin pong unang recommendation. Alam po natin na ang stricter lockdowns or regionwide lockdown are really not the only measures for us to prevent the further transmission of this disease,” she said.
“Ang localized response ang nakikita natin na mukhang mas appropriate for this time being. Nakikita naman po natin na ang local government units are very cooperative and they are capable of doing the response. We just need for them to intensify whatever they are doing in their localities,” she added.
Vergeire said new cases in the past two weeks averaged 2,400 per day, double the 1,100 to 1,200 daily average in January 2021.
The DOH has pointed to non-compliance to health protocols as the reason behind the surge in cases.
“The underlying cause of why cases are increasing is because of the non-compliance of the health protocols that we have. As long as our public would not be able to comply with the minimum health protocols that are there, the interventions, and then andyan na talaga ang posibilidad na dadami at dadami ang kaso and dumating ang variants it has aggravated this increase in the cases,” she said.
The DOH, meanwhile, discouraged the use of face masks with gaps or holes, such as the popular CopperMask.
“We highly recommend that we use masks that are properly fitted sa iyong mukha at walang gaps in between your nose, sa gilid ng ating mukha at sa ilalim ng ating baba,” said Dr. Rodley Carza, head of the DOH’s Policy and Technology Division. (SunStar Philippines)