MANILA, Philippines The Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine set to end on April 12 may have to be extended for 15 to 20 more days to sustain its gains, the head of the national task force (NTF) against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) said on Saturday.
Task force chief Carlito Galvez Jr., who is also the presidential peace adviser, said the timing of the lifting of the quarantine was being discussed with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), which makes the policies to be implemented by the NTF during the national health emergency.
Its quite difficult to rush to normalcy and the problem comes back. What we are considering is to impose this in one go, perhaps extend it for another 15 or maybe 20 more days so we can sustain its positive impact, he said in a radio interview.
An ill-timed termination of the quarantine period may spoil the governments goal of flattening the curve, or controlling the contagion, Galvez said.
The DOH reported that 3,094 people had been afflicted with COVID-19, including 144 who had died and 57 who had recovered as of Saturday.
It will be premature if we make the announcement at this time. We cannot preempt the decision of the President, Galvez said.
Partial or total lifting?
Takeshi Kasai, Western Pacific regional director for the World Health Organization had also cautioned against rushing to end the quarantine and halt other public health regulations against COVID-19.
We may have to peel one by one and not just immediately lift those public health measures which were bundled with the lockdown to balance and control the disease and to bring society back to normal, he said.
Some lawmakers and business groups have called for an extension or gradual lifting of the restrictions.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the IATF-EID spokesperson, said it had approved the parameters proposed by a subtechnical working group for deciding whether to totally or partially lift or extend the Luzon lockdown.
The parameters include the trends in the growth or deceleration in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, said Nograles.
Capacity assessment
Also to be considered are the capacity of the countrys health care system, including the number and availability of quarantine, isolation, and treatment facilities; the capability to mount contact tracing; the availability of personal protective equipment for front-line workers; and the countrys testing capacity.
Various social, economic and security factors will also be weighed, Nograles said.
He said the Department of Health (DOH) was directed to convene all concerned agencies and to finalize the aggregation and analysis of all relevant data which would be discussed by the IATF-EID before President Duterte makes the final determination of what to do.
Nograles said experts, including scientists, doctors, and members of the academe, would analyze data in coming up with recommendations about the quarantine.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1254015/govt-in-no-rush-to-end-lockdown?fbclid=IwAR3uU0dL9iehKGbDP44pslwE20MjWc0MWvoSX1__OPmKygPO5eLUkD-EeZIOK lang ma extend ang ECQ, suportahan na muna ng gobyerno ang pangailangan ng mga apektado, and mas OK kung magkarun muna ng Mass testing then saka na pag desisyunan kung i - lift na ba, o dahan dahan lang...
