No recommendation for total lockdown from health experts consulted by Duterte -Palace
Health experts consulted by President Rodrigo Duterte did not push for a total lockdown in Luzon to effectively curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said there was near consensus among health experts that another extension of the enhanced community quarantine, which began on March 17 and will end on April 30, should not cover the entire Luzon.
“Walang nagrekomenda ng total lockdown. Ang naging rekomendasyon lamang ay i-maintain, i-relax, i-lift ang ECQ sa iba’t ibang lugar depende nga sa kaso ng COVID-19,” Roque said in a televised briefing.
During the consultation on Monday, the President asked the experts about the potential consequences if the Luzon-wide quarantine is lifted, modified, or maintained, Roque said.
The President also inquired whether there will be a second wave of COVID-19 infections and how many will die from the disease if restrictions were to be relaxed or lifted soon.
World Health Organization Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai on Tuesday called for gradual lifting of lockdowns and urged people to be ready for a new way of living to allow society to function while the virus is being kept in check.
“At least until a vaccine, or a very effective treatment, is found, this process will need to become our new normal,” Kasai said.
Roque described the five-hour meeting in Malacañang as “very informative” and the opinions presented by the experts were “well-researched.”
“We have the best brain power in this country,” he said.
Among those present in the meeting were former Health secretaries Esperanza Cabral, Janette Garin, and Jaime Galvez Tan, public health expert Dr. Susan Mercado, health reform advocate Dr. Anthony Leachon and Dr. Mahar Lagmay of the University of the Philippines.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, Quezon Representative Angelina Tan, and some Cabinet officials also attended the consultation.—AOL, GMA News
