The enhanced quarantine period may be extended in some areas as the government adopted a “carrier-centric” approach aimed at detecting, isolating and treating coronavirus patients, a Cabinet official said on Wednesday.
Presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said the possible extension would observe “a balance between ensuring the health and safety of residents, while looking after the economy, social order and human safety.”
“The government may still have to extend the quarantine period in some affected areas,” Galvez, the administration’s chief implementor of efforts to contain the virus, said.
“An infected person becomes a threat to the general public when he or she is mobile and not isolated, and becomes a carrier of the disease,” he added.
This is the reason the National Task Force (NTF) adopted a “carrier-centric” approach, which “aims to detect, isolate and treat Covid-19 patients so they can be cured of the disease and return to their communities as soon as possible.”
“There is a need to determine the social impact of these mitigation measures as interventions shall be implemented by line agencies at the national level and local government units at the community level throughout the critical stages of this campaign,” he said.
Once these interventions are effectively carried out, Galvez said evaluations would be conducted at the sitio (sub-village) and barangay (village) level starting April 15.
These assessments, he said, would determine if communities could be declared “cleared” of Covid-19.
“Our long-term objective here is to see the gradual normalization of communities who have been severely affected by this health crisis. But even if we see a reduction in the number of cases in the future, we cannot afford to let our guard down,” he added.
Under this strategy, Galvez said massive testing would be administered on persons under investigation (PUIs) and persons under monitoring (PUMs) “without delay.”
This would be complemented with effective contact tracing, enforcement of enhanced community/home quarantine, and isolation of confirmed Covid-19 patients as well as suspected cases.
“Contact tracing will be crucial in this effort, as it will enable us to quickly and effectively identify the potential carriers of the disease, and isolate them from the rest of the community before they can infect others. We can use the existing technology, transparency of government processes and vigilance of the community,” Galvez said.
“LGUs (local government units) should find innovative ways by combining the strategy of selective and total lockdown, massive testing, designation of appropriate ‘forced quarantine’ facilities for PUIs and PUMs, effective implementation of social distancing and home quarantine and protection and segregation of the seniors, vulnerable sector and urban poor,” he added.
In isolating virus carriers, Galvez said they have to designate government-dedicated treatment facilities for Covid-19, while PUIs need to be taken to converted isolation centers for closer monitoring.
“Once these Covid-19 patients receive the treatment they need and are able to fully recuperate from the disease, they can be discharged from the facilities and can now return to mainstream society, but still should remain self-aware,” he said.
“Through this approach, we hope to get a bigger picture of the geographic affectation, the number of Covid-19 patients, the current number of facilities which are available, and the resources needed for this massive, nationwide effort,” he added.
The former military chief, however, emphasized that this medical solution provides life-saving health services to people as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Based on the timetable given to us by the President, we hope to take out all Covid-19 positive patients and persons under investigation (PUIs) from their communities by April 14,” Galvez said, adding this move “will help reduce the public’s anxiety over the spread of the disease.”
“We would like to assure the Filipino people that the government is doing everything possible to prevent and mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the disease. But this will require the full cooperation and support of all members of the community,” he said.
“This is unprecedented. Even powerful countries with modern science like the US, China, Japan and Italy were caught unprepared,” Galvez added.
President Rodrigo Duterte placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine from March 17 to April 12.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Wednesday dismissed the idea of placing areas with high coronavirus cases under lockdown.
He warned that this would fuel the spread of the viral disease.
“Hindi mo alam kapag may nakalusot na isa (You will never know if someone slips past the borders),” Año pointed out.
Año, who tested positive for the coronavirus disease, urged the people to stay home.
Higher
As of Wednesday, the Department of Health reported that there were 227 new cases of the coronavirus disease, bringing the total to 2,311.
There were also eight new deaths, bringing the total to 96.
There are now six subnational laboratories that conduct Covid-19 tests aside from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine that can run around 1,200 Covid-19 tests a day.
These laboratories are the San Lazaro Hospital, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, University of the Philippines-National Institute for Health, and Lung Center of the Philippines.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire again called on the public to stay home and to follow the physical distancing protocol.
“Ang atin pong layunin ay mapababa ang bilang ng mga kaso ng Covid-19 sa ating bansa sa lalong madaling panahon (Our aim is to minimize the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country as soon as possible),” she said.
Vergeire also announced that 15,000 of the 1 million personal protective equipment (PPE) procured by the government arrived on Tuesday night.
The remaining 985,000 sets are scheduled to arrive between April 6 and 24.
“Each PPE set is complete with coveralls, N95 masks, gloves, head cover, shoe cover, goggles, surgical mask and surgical gown,” Vergeire said.
WITH JAN ARCILLA AND DEMPSEY REYES