MANILA, Philippines — University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine Class of 2020 valedictorian Tiffany Grace Uy joined the chorus of appeal of various medical societies for the government to recalibrate its plans and strategies in combating the coronavirus disease.
On Monday, Uy, now an intern at UP-Philippine General Hospital, changed her profile picture on Facebook with the frame “Timeout, Save our Frontliners” in a move to express her solidarity with fellow health workers who earlier received a tough lashing from President Rodrigo Duterte.
“May our voices be heard. The healthcare team is not just asking for an ECQ, but a whole new coordinated game plan, involving all the departments. We’re all in this together,” wrote Uy, also the highest grade-holder in UP’s post-war history.
Doctors in the country over the weekend requested for a “timeout” and urged authorities to reimpose tougher movement restrictions in Metro Manila and neighbouring provinces as cases of COVID-19 continue to skyrocket.
Duterte then called out medical frontliners for going public with their plea for a stricter community quarantine for two weeks in the metropolis instead of letting him know about it first.
Several lawmakers have defended the healthcare professionals, reminding the government that the latter don’t deserve to be treated as the “enemy.”
In its latest bulletin, the Department of Health reported 3,226 new cases on Monday, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 106,330.