The chief implementer of the National Task Force on COVID-19 has recommended the creation of four dedicated hospitals in Metro Manila for infected patients.
"Even if we open the economy, we can dance with the virus by adding COVID-dedicated hospitals," Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said during President Rodrigo Duterte's talk to the nation Monday evening that was aired Tuesday morning.
Galvez also underscored the need to beef up medical imfrastructure such as intensive care units for critical cases.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, for his part, said the government is on track to meet its target of testing at least 10 million Filipinos, or about 10 percent of the population, by 2021.
"Testing capacity right now is at 74,000. Our daily testing output is between 20,000 to 23,000 daily," Duque said.
Galvez said bringing the daily testing capacity to 32,000 can prevent as many as 6,000 deaths, especially those declared dead on arrival, as well as prevent asymptomatic patients from spreading the virus.