Decision on NCR quarantine hangs

THE Department of Health (DoH) has not made any recommendation to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on whether Metro Manila and other places that are in general community quarantine (GCQ) will shift to a modified GCQ or revert to the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) on June 15.

Speculation on the kind of quarantine that will be imposed surfaced after posts on social media and text messaging circulated that Metro ManilaL Cebu and Laguna may be reverted back to ECQ or MECQ .

“Wala pa po tayong nailalabas na IATFE ID recommendation para ukol sa

ating June 15 decisionL” Health Undersecretary and spokesman Maria Rosario Vergeire said on the “Laging Handa” public briefing aired on PTV-4.

Vergeire said there were many factors to be considered by the Health department in submitting its recommendations to President Rodrigo DuterteL the biggest being if the pandemic curve had “flattened.”

“Dito po ay makakapag lahad tayo

ng ating mga indicators like the case doubling time and the critical care utilization rateL dito po natin makikita at mapagbabasihan kung ang curve natin ay tumataas, bu ma ba ba or nag fla-flatten (HereL we will explain all our indicators such as the case doubling time and the critical care utilization rate where we will base if the curve is risingL falling or has been flattened), ” Vergeire said.

The inclusion of subgroups such as frontliners working in swabbing centers and quarantine facilitiesL barangay (villageI health emergency workersL and individuals such as pregnant womenL persons deprived of liberty an dim mu no compromised patients in the expanded testing protocol is proof that the risk in contracting the disease remains highL she said.

“‘ Yungibangmga frontlinerL sila po

yungmga exposed dinsamga possible na probable, suspected at confirmed cases kayaposilaisinama (The other frontliners can be exposed to possible probable, suspected, and confirmed cases that is why they were included),” Vergeire said.

She also noted that studies on the airborne transmission of Covid-19 should be examined further, adding that droplet transmission through close contact is still the main way of transmitting the virus.

Vergeire also called on asymptomatic patients to inform their local officials about their condition, consult via telemedicine and isolate.

She also reminded the public to remain vigilant and continue doing preventive measures, such as the wearing of cloth face masks every time they go outside.

"Pinapayagannaponatinang mga cloth mask paramapreserve ponatinang (We allow cloth masks so that we can preserve the) stocks and supplies of these medical masks and N-95 masks to our health care workers who are really in need of these masks,” Vergeire said.

She warned the public about uncertified Covid-19 antibody rapid testing kits being sold online, saying that they should only use Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–registered testing kits that had been validated by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM). “Hindiporque registered ng FDA aytamanapoatmaayos ang sensitivity at specificity…. [Dapat]po accurate angmakuha nyongresultadyan.Kailanganpo may validation pong RITM etong mga antibody rapid test. (It does not mean that if it is FDA registered then its sensitivity and specificity would be right. The results that you should get on these test kits should be accurate, that is why it should have validated by the RITM).” Vergeire said.

On Saturday, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the government made the right decision in gradually easing lockdown measures despite the spike in new Covid cases in the country. Roque said the IATF based its decision on the country’s quarantine classification on factors related to protecting public health and jumpstarting the economy.“

"Saakin,tamanamanpoangnaging IATF. Nakitanatinna nabuksannatinangekonomiya (For me, the decisions of the IATF are right. We have seen the reopening of the economy),” Roque said.

He noted that although the daily death toll from the virus continued to rise, it has remained in single digits. Roque said that most of the patients were either asymptomatic or mild cases and only few were in critical condition.

“Atsapatpoiyongatingkakayahan (We also have sufficient capacity) to provide critical care So, I would say tamapoangmgadatos, tamapoangmganagingdesisyon (the data is correct, the decision is correct),” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to meet on Monday with the IATF to decide on whether to lift, extend or revert the quarantine status in some areas.

Earlier, the Palace said the return to modified enhanced community quarantine was possible in areas where the number of Covid cases continues to rise. Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Zamboanga City, Davao City, Albay, Cebu City, and Mandaue City are under general community quarantine until June 15.

The rest of the country is in modified general community quarantine, the lowest quarantine level implemented by the government.

As of June 12, the Philippines has 24,787 Covid cases.