IATF: Too early to tell if quarantine has flattened COVID-19 curve

MANILA, Philippines — It is “too early” to say whether the strict quarantine measures have flattened the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) curve, the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said Tuesday.

IATF spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the flattening of the curve will be based on the parameters to be set by the Department of Health (DOH).

“Yung IATF nagcreate po ng technical working group. At ang technical working group na yan ay chaired ng Department of Health. Sila po ang magseset ng parameters in order for us to determine kung naging maganda ba ang hakbang na ginagawa natin at kasama na dyan yung flattening of the curve,” Nograles said in a press briefing.

(The IATF created a technical working group chaired by the Department of Health. They will set the parameters in order for us to determine whether the steps we made were effective. That includes flattening the curve)

“Ngayon, masyado pang maaga. Anyway, the DOH will be setting the parameters,” he added.

(Now, it’s too early to tell. Anyway, the DOH will be setting the parameters.)

With two weeks left into the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, cases of COVID-19 continue to rise with the number reaching 1,546 on Monday.

The strict quarantine measure is expected to be lifted at midnight on April 13, 2020.

/MUF