COVID-19 response a failure? DOH cites programs enforced since January

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has countered observations that the government’s COVID-19 response has failed by enumerating the various programs and procedures it employed to address the COVID-19 pandemic since January.

As a start, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reminded critics that the country had to send swab samples of suspected COVID-19 patients to Australia during the onset of the outbreak in the country, but now, she noted, there are  91 testing facilities nationwide to process the test.

“Noong Enero, kinakailangan pa nating magpadala ng samples patungong Australia para lamang po makumpirma ang kaso ng COVID-19.  Noon, RITM pa lang po ang may kakayahang mag-test ng COVID-19,” Vergeire said during DOH’s daily briefing on the COVID-19 crisis.

“Ngayon meron na po tayong 91 na laboratories na may kakayahang magtest ng COVID-19 sa iba’t-ibang bahagi ng bansa,” she added.

Vergeire further also noted that the country can now test over 24,000 samples in a day, whereas in March – when lockdowns in Luzon and Metro Manila have just been imposed and cases were not even breaching 1,000 – the country can only manage 300 tests daily.

Aside from that, she also mentioned that the number of people who turn out positive per 100 tests is only at 8.6 percent.

“Noong buwan ng April, nakapagtala po tayo ng 22.2 percent na positivity rate […] Ngayon, nakapagtala na lang po tayo ng 8.6 percent positivity rate, halos 14 points ang nabawas,” Vergeire stressed.

“Noong Marso, 300 test lamang po ang kapasidad ng ating mga laboratoryo, ngayon kaya po na nating magsagawa ng 24,000-plus tests per day.  Mahigit isang milyong na ring mga test para sa COVID-19, ang goal po natin ay umabot sa 1.5 million tests sa katapusan po ng buwan ng Hulyo,” she added.

Vergeire moreover explained that they have been doing their best, insisting that the continuous rise in coronavirus infection in the country stems from the relaxation of quarantine restrictions.

“[…] Nakagawa ng karampatang aksyon ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan sa pamamagitan ng patuloy na pagdagdag ng healthcare workforce, pagdagdag po ng testing, at pagra-ramp up ng testing capacity, paggawa po ng mga temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, pagbibigay ng PPEs,” Vergeire asserted.

“Dahil po sa patuloy na pagluwag ng community restrictions, makikita po natin na talagang tumataas ang kaso.  Kaya naman po inaanyayahan namin ang publiko na gawin pa rin ang minimum health standards,” she added.

On Wednesday, Senate Minority Floor Leader Senator Franklin Drilon said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases failed to do its job as the Philippines is on track to hit the University of the Philippines (UP) research team’s prediction of 85,000 cases and 2,000 deaths by the end of July.

Then a week before President Rodrigo Duterte gives his fifth State of the Nation Address, former UP Diliman chancellor Michael Tan said he is giving the government an “F” — a failing grade or “falfak” (stylized Tagalog word for palpak which means failure) for messing up the COVID-19 response.

But Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said it is unfair to make such assumptions, while presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that UP experts may join IATF and help the government.

KGA

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