Malacañang was saddened by the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases in the country over the weekend but said the government had no choice but to relax quarantine measures in order to revitalize the economy.
(OPS / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after the number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 44,254 on Sunday with the Department of Health (DOH) saying this could be attributed to the relaxed quarantine protocols that allowed a higher level of public interaction.
In his Monday press briefing, Roque acknowledged that the latest reported figure has raised the level of public anxiety, but said it should not discourage the people in the fight against the pandemic.
"Marami pong kinabahan sa naging ulat na ito at maging kami ay nalungkot nanguna naming narinig ito. Ngunit hindi po tayo dapat pagnhinaan ng loob. Tuloy po ang laban (Many people are nervous after the report and even we are saddened about it. However, this is not a reason for us to be discouraged. The fight against COVID-19 goes on)," he said.
According to Roque, the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in the country is at 7.3 percent and is still at the benchmark of the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Kaya naniniwala po tayo na malalampasan po natin ito (That's why we believe that we will overcome this)," he said. No choice "Tingin ko po wala naman tayong alternatibo kundi magbukas talaga ng ekonomiya (I don't think we have other alternatives but to open the economy)," he said.
"Kung hindi pa natin mabubuksan, eh baka mamaya, buhay nga tayo, mamamatay naman tayo dahil wala tayong hanapbuhay. Tinitignan natin yung balanse (If we won't open the economy, we might die not because of the virus but because we have no livelihood)," he added.
Despite the need to jumpstart the economy, Roque said Metro Manila, which is now under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ), may still revert to the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) if the situation worsens.
"Hindi ko naman sinasabi 'yan dahil kung lumala talaga, wala po tayong alternatibo (I'm not saying we are not going back to ECQ but if the situation gets worse, then we don't have a choice)," he said. Roque reminded the public to follow quarantine protocols, observe social distancing and adhere to minimum health standards and proper hygiene like wearing of face masks and proper handwashing.
Critical care
Meanwhile, Roque belied reports that Metro Manila hospitals have reached full capacity and are no longer admitting COVID-19 patients.
"Yung mga kumakalat na fake news na ubos na raw po ang mga hospital beds ng ating mga hospital, hindi po 'yan totoo (The fake news being spread that Metro Manila is out of hospital beds is not true)," he said.
He said the DOH has met with the medical directors of all hospitals in Metro Manila and they agreed that the allotted 30 percent bed capacity of each hospital has not been breached yet.
According to Roque, Metro Manila's critical care utilization was still at 63 percent or moderate risk as of July 5.
He said that new Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega was tasked to head the Hospital One Incident Command that will determine the rate of critical care utilization and hospital care and capacity.