Gatchalian backs extending MECQ as hospitals still need relief
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian cautioned the government against immediately reverting Metro Manila and nearby provinces to a less stringent quarantine status as he proposed a two-week extension of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in these areas.
In an online interview with reporters on Thursday, Gatchalian said the MECQ period is crucial for hospitals to reduce their occupancy rate.
The senator cited data from the Department of Health (DOH) which showed that hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR) have been occupied nearly at their full capacity.
“Nakita ko na sa NCR, almost 80 percent full ang hospitals. Ginagawa natin tong MECQ para makaluwag yung ating mga ospital at makahinga at makabuo ng capacity. But based sa datos, nasa 80 percent pa rin tayo which is considered very, very high,” he said.
(I saw that in NCR, hospitals are almost 80 percent full. The reason why MECQ was put in place was to let hospitals free up some space and to build up more capacity for patients. But based on the data, hospitals are 80 percent full, which is considered very, very high.)
“Having said that, nakikita ko na kailangan i-extend pa yung MECQ para makaluwag yung ating mga ospital,” he added.
(Having said that, I see the need to extend the MECQ in order for our hospitals to have more capacity.)
Reverting Metro Manila and other areas with high cases of COVID-19 to a general community quarantine (GCQ) too soon could drive hospitals to the brink of being fully occupied.
“Kung buksan natin ulit to GCQ at 80 percent pa rin, talagang sisipa ‘yan to almost 90 even 100 percent at diyan tayo magkakaroon ng problema dahil dadagsain ng pasyente ang mga ospital natin,” he said.
(If we enforce GCQ while the occupancy rate of our hospitals is at 80 percent, possible COVID-19 cases can drive that up to 90 or even 100 percent and that is where we would face a problem because more patients will head to hospitals.)
“Tingin ko kailangan pa ng two weeks nang MECQ,” he added.
(I think we need two more weeks of MECQ.)
Gatchalian, meanwhile, allayed concerns that an extended MECQ could negatively impact the country’s economy.
He pointed out that MECQ is the perfect balance for restricting interactions between people but still allowing employees to work.
“I think at this point ito na yung pinakamagandang balance. Itong MECQ. Dahil kahit papano nakakatrabaho pa rin yung mga kababayan natin, nakakapasok pa rin sila pero hindi maluwag at kino-control pa rin yung paglabas ng tao,” he said.
(I think at this point this is a perfect balance. This MECQ. Because some employees are still allowed to work but it’s not that lenient and the movement of people is controlled.)
“Importante na ang tao hindi nakakagalaw ng malaya dahil doon sila nakakapaghawa sa ibang tao,” he added.
(It’s important that people’s movement is restricted because otherwise, there’s more room for transmission.)
The country’s healthcare frontliners earlier appealed for a reimposition of a strict lockdown in Metro Manila to give them time to recuperate from exhaustion due to the continuous surge of COVID-19 cases nationwide.
Following the call of the medical community, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the reimposition of MECQ in Metro Manila and other nearby provinces from August 4 to 18.
As of August 13, confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines reached 143,749. Of the number, 68,997 have already recovered while 2,404 have succumbed to the disease. [ac]
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