DILG: No lockdown in COVID-hit areas

DILG: No lockdown in COVID-hit areas

MANILA, Philippines — The government will not lock down areas where local transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been confirmed, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said yesterday.

“There is no need for a lockdown now. Nasa Code Red, sub-level 1 pa lang naman tayo,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a Viber message to reporters.

Under Code Red, all hospital staff are required to be on duty and ready to provide medical services in the event more people are infected with the virus, Año explained.

Instead of locking down areas, authorities will intensify contact tracing surrounding the three cases of local COVID-19 transmission – the couple from Cainta, Rizal and the employee holding office in Taguig City, he said.

Those who came in close contact with the three cases and are showing symptoms of the virus will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine at their homes, he added.

Addressing local government units, the DILG chief said: “We will also put on watch all persons with severe acute respiratory infections who might be possible candidates.”

4 kids in Cainta under quarantine

The four children of the couple living in Cainta who tested positive for COVID-19 are now under home quarantine and have been tested for possible infection.

“We are just awaiting the laboratory tests (of the children),” Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a televised interview yesterday.

She also said there were no new cases recorded as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country remained at six.

Vergeire said the fourth case – an employee of Deloitte Philippines – is in stable condition and still being closely monitored at a referral hospital.

She said case number 5 – the 62-year-old man from Cainta who frequented a prayer room in Greenhills, San Juan City – was transferred to another referral hospital the other night because he needed to undergo a medical procedure for his other ailments.

His 58-year-old wife, who is case number 6, is still in the same hospital and in stable condition, added Vergeire.

IATF meeting on class suspensions

On whether or not schools should be shuttered amid the health emergency, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said it would be up for discussion in today’s Interagency Task Force (IATF) meeting.

There had been calls for the suspension of classes since Health Secretary Francisco Duque confirmed local transmission of COVID-19, followed by the President’s declaration of a nationwide state of public health emergency last Saturday.  

At least three localities heeded the call to suspend classes this week – Taytay and Cainta in Rizal (today and tomorrow), Navotas City (Monday-Friday), and San Juan Juan City (today).

Guevarra said public health is the primary consideration of the IATF on Emerging Infectious Diseases, and that during today’s meeting, it shall defer to the guidance of the DOH.

“We can recover lost revenues from trade and tourism, make up for lost time, and reset events to some better days, but we cannot resurrect people who may die due to indifference or lack of precaution,” Guevarra said.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri also urged for an early summer closure of schools “to allow our kids to stay safe at home” and allow schools to be disinfected.

For now, Malacañang said it would be up to school administrators to decide whether or not to suspend classes.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said school officials can suspend classes if they think it would protect students from the coronavirus.

“It’s discretionary to school authorities. Of course, they will decide on that. They are the administrators. They can suspend and then they can make another schedule to make up for the absences,” he said in a radio interview. 

Gov’t offices to stay open

Government offices, on the other hand, shall remain open as the Palace sees no need to suspend work as of now, said Panelo.

Asked if the rising cases of COVID-19 would slow down Duterte’s activity, Panelo said: “I don’t think so, because he has a lot of scheduled activities.”

Panelo said the President is set to release an executive order declaring a state of public health emergency at today’s Palace press briefing.

The declaration will mobilize resources and ease processes, including procurement of critical logistics and supplies.

Under Republic Act No. 11332, a public health emergency is defined as “the occurrence of an imminent threat of an illness or health condition which, among other possible effects, could pose a high probability of a large number of deaths in the affected population and widespread exposure to an infectious or toxic agent.”

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said both the employers and workers must be open to telecommuting and other alternative work arrangements in an bid to minimize the workers’ exposure to the virus.

Funding tests

Panelo said there should not be any panic because the best containment mechanisms are already in place, including funds.

“We are ready for whatever eventuality... With regard to funding, the DOH has funding. The DOH is seeking a P2-billon supplemental fund,” he said.

But the DOH stressed that only persons under investigation (PUIs) for the virus shall be tested for infection at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Vice President Leni Robredo has urged the government to provide free assessment and treatment for the virus, noting that some citizens who might have symptoms of the disease may be hesitant to go to hospitals due to high cost of the tests.

COVID-19 patient visited Pangasinan

In Pangasinan, Provincial Health Officer Anna Ma. Teresa de Guzman said her office traced several persons who had been in contact with a Filipina infected with the coronavirus.

De Guzman was referring to a Filipina living in Australia who arrived in Manila last Feb. 13, attended a reunion in Pangasinan last Feb. 22, and later tested positive for COVID-19.

She told The STAR that all sentinel hospitals in Pangasinan, both public and private, were monitored to find out if there were patients who sought treatment for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 like severe upper respiratory infections and fever, among others, between Feb. 14 and Feb. 29. “But there was zero,” she said.

De Guzman revealed that on Feb. 22, the patient went straight to the reunion in Dagupan City from Manila, then spent the night at her ancestral house in Lingayen.

In the morning of Feb. 23, she had breakfast at a resort in Lingayen, then visited Aguilar town where she had lunch, before traveling back to Manila.

“From Feb. 24 to present, that’s already 14 days – enough for incubation period – yet there’s none so far who have manifested signs and symptoms of COVID-19 from among those she had close contact with,” De Guzman said.

Transparency

Senators Nancy Binay and Sonny Angara echoed calls for transparency and release of timely information on local transmissions of the virus to better protect public health.

“We are at a crucial point where communication is vital in confronting a state of public health emergency,” Binay said.

She called on the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), through the Philippine Information Agency, to implement a proactive communication plan with the DOH and use the free airtime alloted for public service announcements in national and local TV and radio stations for COVID-19 health advisories.

“Information is the most essential element in addressing the situation,” said Angara, citing funds from the 2020 national budget that can be tapped for this purpose.

Stimulus 

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian warned the COVID-19 outbreak is beginning to take its toll on several industries, and pushed for the implementation of a P28-billion stimulus package to pump-prime the economy.

He cited big losses in the tourism and supply chains as well as in transport and logistics, highlighted by the recent layoff of 300 employees of flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL).

In tourism for example, Gatchalian said the government can extend property tax discounts and temporary Value-Added Tax (VAT) relief to micro, small and medium enterprises; create a financing facility to extend loans, and rehabilitate landmarks to attract domestic tourists.

TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said placing the country under public health emergency could also heavily impact on agri-food export business and manufacturing sector. – Evelyn Macairan, Alexis Romero, Eva Visperas, Paolo Romero