Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Saturday said the Philippines could no longer sustain stricter forms of lockdown as this could have adverse long-term effects on the domestic economy.
“We can no longer afford to revert to a higher quarantine status of MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) or ECQ because that will irreversibly injure if not damage the economy beyond repair,” Duque said during the ceremonial launching of “Mask Para sa Masa” initiative in Quezon City.
The mask program is an inter-agency cooperation to provide 30 million domestically manufactured face masks to poor families.
Duque’s statement coincided with official reports of 3,637 new COVID-19 cases in the country, bringing the total to 213,131.
Most of the new cases reported came from the National Capital Region with 2,030, followed by Laguna with 217, Rizal with 155, Cavite with 142, and Batangas with 113.
The DOH also reported 94 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 3,419.
DOH likewise announced 655 recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries to 135,101.
Duque stressed the need to expand the number and capacity of quarantine facilities since if there should be an increase in infections and the economy had been re-opened the increase would be manageable.
During the second quarter, the Philippine economy plunged into recession, contracting by 16.5 percent—its worst performance on record since 1981.
Towards the end of the first quarter, the economy was in a standstill due to the implementation of strict quarantine measures — enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and other high-risk areas from March 17 to May 15, followed by a modified enhanced community quarantine until May 31.
Looser restrictions were then implemented under the general community quarantine starting June 1.
Metro Manila and four other nearby provinces, however, were reverted to the stricter MECQ on August 4 and lasted until August 18.
For the whole of 2020, economic managers were expecting the economy to shrink by 5.5 percent, taking into consideration the country’s plunge to recession and Metro Manila returning to stricter lockdown for two weeks.
Duque’s remarks followed the UP OCTA Research Team statement that it would discourage the shift of Metro Manila to the most lenient form of community quarantine as more observations and study were needed to ensure that lockdown would not result in a major increase in COVID-19 cases.
Metro Manila’s GCQ is supposed to end on August 31. The next lower status for the metropolis is a modified GCQ.
In other developments:
* Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando on Saturday announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Fernando said he was “positive-asymptomatic”, based on the results of his swab test released on Friday.
* The cost and time it will take to get results using saliva samples for coronavirus tests and regular swab tests may be similar, Secretary Fortunato dela Peña of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Saturday.
* Clinical trials for the use of virgin coconut oil (VCO) against coronavirus disease symptoms may take two months before researchers reach a conclusion, Dela Pena said Saturday.
* The Philippine Food and Drug Administration has approved the clinical trials for lagundi as a supplemental treatment for individuals infected with the coronavirus, dela Peña added.
A total 3,637 confirmed cases are reported based on the total tests done by 102 out of 110 current operational labs.
Of the 3,637 reported cases, 3,063 (84 percent) occurred within the recent 14 days (August 16 – August 29, 2020).
Of the 94 deaths, 81 occurred in August (86 percent), 12 in July (13 percent) and 1 in June (1 percent).
Deaths were from NCR (54 or 57 percent), Region 4A (16 or 17 percent), Region 3 (14 or 15 percent), Region 6 (4 or 4 percent), Region 9 (3 or 3 percent), Region 7 (1 or 1 percent), and Unknown (1 or 1 percent).
There were 50 duplicates that were removed from the total case count.
Of these, 16 recovered cases have been removed.
Moreover, there were 12 cases that were previously reported as recovered but after final validation were 9 deaths and 3 active cases.
There are also 74,611 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine.
Of this, 91.3 percent are mild, 6.7 percent are asymptomatic, 0.8 percent are severe, and 1.1 percent are in critical condition.
At present, the Philippines has 84 certified polymerase chain reaction facilities and 28 GeneXpert laboratories that have tested a total of 2,353,506 individuals.
Meanwhile, 49 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds for patients are occupied while 28 percent of its ventilators are being used.
Experts from the University of the Philippines have projected that the country’s COVID-19 cases may reach 375,000 by the end of September.
These numbers undergo constant cleaning and validation, said the DOH.
Meanwhile, Duque said the pandemic had exposed the country’s frail healthcare system, saying when the virus entered the country “we were struggling.”
On the bright side, Duque noted the pandemic had forced the government and the healthcare sector to improve their strategies and response reactions, stressing the country now had 108 laboratories.
Meanwhile the government has started rolling out the distribution of locally-made washable masks to indigents, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
Vergeire said they intended to distribute 13 million masks to indigents, and the distribution would run until they reach the target.
She told a press briefing “This is to encourage them to comply with minimum health standards, that’s why our national government will give out locally manufactured masks to our countrymen in this sector.”
The Philippines, on various levels of lockdown since mid March, has been implementing minimum health standards such as physical distancing, wearing of face masks when going outdoors, and using face shields when in public transport and malls, among others.
Experts have also reiterated that the use of washable masks is most suitable for citizens who will go out just to do essential chores such as groceries, and the like.
Vergeire encouraged local manufacturers to produce more masks to help the government meet its target as soon as possible.
