Experts recommend possible extension of ECQ, according to DOH
Experts have recommended extending the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the “NCR Plus” bubble if new COVID-19 cases continue to surge according to a Department of Health official.
In a Palace press briefing Monday, Department of Health (DOH) Epidemiology Bureau director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said the one-week ECQ will cause a slight dip in the number of cases, but there is a possibility that the numbers will rise again after restrictions have been lifted.
“Kaya ‘yung isa sa nirerekomenda ng ating eksperto ay baka kailangan i-extend, dahil doon sa pag-extend ng ECQ natin makikita ‘yung tuluy-tuloy na pagbaba ng kaso,” De Guzman said.
She added, “Naiintidihan natin ang economic implications nito. Hindi ito isang desisyon na gagawin nang mabilisan. Titingnan natin ang datos sa susunod na linggo kung kinakailangan natin.”
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that based on statistics presented by the IATF, the number of cases will still not go down even if the ECQ will be extended.
“Kaya bina-balanse natin ‘yan. Kinukunsidera natin ‘yung total health ng ating mga kababayan, ‘yung cost-benefit analysis in terms of karagdagang Pilipino ay magugutom at mamatay dahil sa COVID-19,” said Roque.
“Ganyan po ‘yung ating decision-making process, napakaselan po talaga dahil kung ang susundin lang natin ay ‘yung isang aspeto dapat pababain ang numero ng COVID-19, baka po mas maraming mamatay dahil po sa pagkagutom,” he said.
Roque added, “Titingnan din po natin ‘yung kakayahan magbigay pa ng malawakang assistance kasi napakarami pong bibigyan ng assistance kada linggo ng ECQ.”
With the ECQ in place, University of the Philippines School of Statistics associate professor and UP COVID-19 Response Team’s Peter Cayton said significant improvement in contact tracing and testing are important.
“Contact tracing up to the third degree of contacts is necessary to catch up with the spread of the disease, especially that more transmissible COVID-19 variants may be present,” Cayton told PhilStar Life.
When it comes to testing, Cayton says those who were in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19, whether they are asymptomatic or not “should be tested and when positive, be placed in quarantine or treated in hospitals if experiencing severe symptoms. We cannot just test symptomatic cases only.”
Cayton says, several factors should be considered when it comes to the length of the lockdowns. “This should be pegged with key performance indicators on public health, like reproduction number, hospital capacity, and positive rate. It cannot be just one number.”
In an interview with CNN’s The Source, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that placing Metro Manila and its neighboring areas under ECQ for one week is a way for officials to see the trend of the virus.
When asked about the government’s plan for an effective and efficient contact tracing, Lorenzana admitted that there has been a debate about the contact tracing apps, especially that different cities in Metro Manila have also rolled out their own. This issue, according to Lorenzana, has not been fully addressed.
“Isa din yan sa malaking debate namin last week dahil ang StaySafe is accepted—donated by a firm—and was accepted by the DOH and DILG last week. Ito na ‘yung ating magiging standard na contact tracing.
In a media forum Monday, Department of Health spokesperson Maria Rosaria Vergeire said, "This ECQ aims to slow down the surge of cases, stop the spread of the variants, allow the health system to recover, and of course, to protect more lives.”
She added that policies under the ECQ will be "flexible" and "dynamic," and will be based on many factors, including the capacity of the health system.
As of this writing, the Philippines has logged a record-high 10,016 new COVID-19 cases, which brings the country’s total number of cases to 731,884. The country has 13,186 deaths and 603,213 recoveries.
Banner and thumbnail image by Miguel de Guzman/The Philippine STAR