STRICTER ENFORCEMENT Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Joint Task Force COVID Shield commander, leads an inspection at a checkpoint on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, on Monday. The police and the military make their presence more visible amid persistent violation of lockdown measures by private motorists in Metro Manila. (Photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manilans may have to stay home longer after April 30, as the number of new coronavirus infections keeps rising with only 10 days left before the extended Luzon lockdown ends.
President Rodrigo Duterte decides this week whether to extend the lockdown or reduce its enforcement to parts of the island with large numbers of coronavirus infections, his spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday.
Several senators supported a proposed “selective quarantine,” but stressed the need for restarting the economy.
Lift it in the provinces
But Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, Duterte’s former longtime aide who is now chief of the Senate health committee, said he was more inclined to recommend the extension of the lockdown in Metro Manila because of the continuing increase in the number of fresh infections in the metropolis.
Go, however, echoed the view of some of his Senate colleagues on easing the restrictions in parts of Luzon with fewer coronavirus cases.
“As a senator, I’m in favor of extending the [lockdown] in the [National Capital Region] because of the increasing [coronavirus] cases. We really have to contain [the rate of transmission] because our health-care system may not be enough if this worsened,” Go said in a video message.
“In other provinces, it could be lifted and converted to a modified community quarantine. What’s important is to make sure that Filipinos will be able to eat [regularly] because that’s the reason why they are going outside their homes,” Go said.
Mr. Duterte’s decision would be based on the recommendations of health experts and former heads of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, with whom he was meeting on Monday, Roque said.
He said the task force was also meeting to draft recommendations to the President on public health measures and possible loosening of quarantine restrictions to allow a phased resumption of economic activity after April 30.
Mr. Duterte is expected to make a decision this week, Roque said.
Balanced decision
That decision would balance the state’s duty to protect public health and the citizens’ right to make a living, he added.
Like most governments across the globe, the Duterte administration is under pressure to restart the economy to arrest a slide to recession. Businessmen have recommended phased reopenings, starting with manufacturing and its supply chains and essential services to breathe life back into the economy while the government cleans up the viral mess through mass testing.
A full-blown return to economic activity, which includes restarting public transportation, depends on the speed by which the government suppresses the spread of the virus.
Presenting a graph during his virtual press briefing, Roque claimed a slight decrease in coronavirus infections after his call to the public last week to stay at home to help halt the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19.
The DOH has been reporting increasing recoveries from the disease since last week. But the infections and deaths were seesawing and Monday’s figures were again worrying. The DOH reported 19 new deaths, seven more than the 12 deaths on Sunday and bringing the toll to 428.
It also reported 200 additional infections, 28 more than on Sunday and pushing the total to 6,459. Only 41 patients recovered, 15 fewer than the 56 reported on Sunday. That, however, raised the number of survivors to 613, still greater than the death toll.
Modification
If the fall in infections becomes sustained, Duterte may modify the lockdown to limit the strict measures to localities with high numbers of infections, Roque said.
That means a review after a certain period to see how the country is tracking.
For Roque, however, another extension is insurance against a resurgence of the virus, although that will prolong the economic plight of the citizens. He noted that the government had been able to extend economic assistance only to impoverished families.
“Whatever [the President’s] decision is, we need to prepare for its implementation,” Roque said. “We expect that the recommendations of the experts and the [task force] will be finished this week so that the President can make his choice,” he added.
Several senators on Monday expressed support for the proposal of a phased reopening of the economy.
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said the government should produce a risk assessment and action plan to determine the economic impact of extending the lockdown beyond April 30.
“While we value the primacy of life and public health, it cannot be denied that the country’s economy should not be ignored,” Lacson said in a Viber message.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros reiterated her call for mass testing, particularly for sectors of the population most vulnerable to infection.
Senators Francis Pangilinan, Sherwin Gatchalian and Joel Villanueva agreed with Lacson, underscoring the importance of a postlockdown plan for moving the economy.
Pangilinan said the lockdown “should be extended, but certain essential services should be allowed to begin to operate.”
“But that requires more testing as we prepare for that calibrated lifting,” he added.
Villanueva said an extended economic shutdown would be hard to sustain as he cited a study done by experts from the University of the Philippines that showed certain areas in Luzon were not in danger of high numbers of coronavirus infections.
Safety measures
“We should lift the [lockdown] in these areas with the caveat that social distancing, proper wearing of masks and hand-washing are strictly practiced,” Villanueva said.
“I would also recommend that we balance economic and public health interests. We can start operating some industries that are big economic contributors like construction and manufacturing,” he added.
Gatchalian said small businesses such as beauty salons and barbershops may be reopened while allowing the partial operation of public transportation, including tricycles, jeepneys and buses.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said allowing businesses in areas with low numbers of coronavirus infections would “allow people to work, earn and provide for their families.” That, he said, “will help in restarting our economy.”