MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) said it would advocate for a “time out” in Metro Manila as well as revisit the strategy for addressing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Philippines.
“We have committed to advocate for the call for a time-out in NCR in our IATF meeting,” DOH said in a statement dated August 1 but was posted on Sunday.
To recall, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to immediately discuss the call made by frontline medical workers to place Mega Manila under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for two weeks.
The Philippine medical community lamented that the lockdown is needed as they are already overwhelmed by the increasing number of COVID-19 cases nationwide.
Meanwhile, the health department said it has also committed to “proactively lead the implementation of effective localized lockdowns with the National Task Force.”
DOH also vowed to “revisit strategy with the help of a broad range of health sector stakeholders and develop and update one within seven days.”
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III previously said he will listen to the request of healthcare workers, noting that they will revisit the COVID-19 strategies of the government.
As of August 1, DOH reported a total of 98,232 COVID-19 infections including 65,265 recoveries and 2,039 deaths.