DOH won’t lift restrictions amid pressure from doctors’ group

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has thumbed down a proposal made by a civil society group, led by a former health chief, for the government to lift quarantine measures, warning that in doing so, the country might run the risk of losing whatever progress it had made against COVID-19 in the last six months.

The statement was in response to a proposal by the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines, read by former Health Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan, which on Thursday asked President Duterte “to lift all lockdowns to allow our people to begin to rebuild their lives.”

On Friday, the DOH logged an additional 3,257 cases, pushing the national tally to 279,526.

Metro Manila reported the biggest number of new cases, 997, followed by Bulacan (282), Cavite (179), Negros Occidental (152) and Cebu (127).

Total recoveries reached 208,790 with 733 more patients cured. The death toll, however, is now at 4,830 as 47 patients succumbed to the severe respiratory disease.

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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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