MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Saturday the government will revisit its overall plans to address the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic amid the call made by health workers to return Metro Manila and adjacent areas to a state of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
“The Department of Health (DOH) as the lead of the Task Group on Response Operations will work with the National Task Force in effectively implementing localized lockdowns and ensure that the national government will provide comprehensive support,” Duque said in an official statement.
“We will revisit and include the inputs we have gathered in our overall gameplan. The DOH will develop this strategy in coordination with our government and non-government counterparts in the next 7 days,” he added.
To all my colleagues in the medical profession… pic.twitter.com/nuAqD3VHZh
— Francisco T. Duque III (@SecDuque) August 1, 2020
The Health chief also assured health workers that the government is listening to their appeal, saying it will present “more comprehensive” policies to protect medical workers amid the pandemic.
“Fellow health workers, please know that as Secretary of Health, I hear your pleas— and I will present these to the IATF and present to them more comprehensive strategies to protect our ranks,” Duque said.
Medical workers headed by the Philippine College of Physicians requested the government to once again place Metro Manila under enhanced community quarantine for two weeks as COVID-19 cases in the country continue to surge.
President Rodrigo Duterte already ordered the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to look into the concerns of health workers, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
The DOH earlier recorded a total of 98,232 coronavirus disease cases. Of this number, 65,265 have recovered while 2,039 have succumbed to the disease.