Doctors’ rest worth taking — Gordon

The timeout asked by the doctors will be helpful in conceiving a master COVID-19 plan, Senator Richard Gordon said on Tuesday.

“The timeout they are asking for is well worth taking. I agree that we should ask help from the health experts. We really have to make sure we are cerebral in our actions. Everything should be looked through,” Gordon said.

“We have to repair our broken healthcare system. The timeout was meant as a huddle, to have a deliberate discussion,” he added. The lawmaker suggested that health experts should lead the planning and the military for implementation. “COVID-19 is a very terrifying illness. Although the death toll isn’t that high, one death is one too many. Certainly, their (health workers) families feared for their safety,” he said.

He noted that the country’s healthcare system is already impaired and overwhelmed.

“Six out of ten people will die without ever seeing a doctor in our country. It is how insufficient we are,” Gordon pointed out.

We were wrong with rapid tests. It is good that the president has already decided that PCR test should be utilized.

He proposed that retired medical professionals and those with medical degrees be mobilized in the time of a national emergency.

Contact tracing enforcement

The government lacked in the enforcement of contact tracing.

“We fell short in the enforcement of case finding and isolation. First of all, we should have tested right away. Testing is the most important. That’s why the Red Cross stepped in right away to separate the infected cases,” the senator said.