Health system ready for eased lockdown — Presidential Palace

THE COUNTRY’S healthcare system is ready in case the lockdown in the capital region and nearby areas is eased further, according to the presidential palace.

Metro Manila has enough hospital beds to accommodate coronavirus patients, presidential spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing on Monday.

“There are enough beds to treat the sick,” he said in Filipino. “Second, the vaccinations will continue.”

The task force leading the country’s pandemic response at the weekend approved a proposal from economic planners to put the entire country under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) — the most relaxed lockdown level — to boost economic growth.

“Cases might soar but the truth is, we are ready,” Mr. Roque said, adding that the government had been boosting the country’s healthcare system since the lockdown started in mid-March.

“But if the President will say ‘The vaccine is there, so let’s vaccinate first,’ it’s not really a problem because the InterAgency Task Force is just recommendatory,” he added.

The OCTA Research Group from the University of the Philippines earlier said coronavirus cases in the capital region could reach as high as 2,400 daily if the lockdown is eased.

“If restrictions in the National Capital Region are relaxed to very loose levels, the region will be under a constant threat of a surge due to the increased mobility of people, reduced social distancing and diminished compliance with health protocols,” it said in a report.

The Cordillera Administrative Region in northern Philippines was placed under a general lockdown this month, joining Metro Manila and other cities with high rates of coronavirus infections after a new virus variant was detected there.

Also on Monday, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said the critical use rate in public and private hospitals in Metro Manila, the virus epicenter, stood at

34% which was “low-risk.”