DOH to issue recommendation on quarantine setup in 2 weeks

DOH Usec. Rosette Vergeire in an online press conference.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) will submit within the next two weeks its recommendation on whether or not the general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ in the country will continue even as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID019) cases rise.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Tuesday said that the DOH will assess the rate of increase of COVID-19 cases, as well as the case doubling time and critical care utilization rate in the country in making its recommendation.

Case doubling time is the period it takes for newly-reported cases to increase two-fold.

“Bago matapos itong dalawang linggo, magbibigay tayo ulit ng rekomendasyon para sa IATF (Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases) para makapagrekomenda po sila sa ating Presidente (In two weeks, we will have another recommendation so that the IATF can recommend [quarantine measures] to the President),” she said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo, adding that issues and concerns in other sectors will also be considered.

Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) Pangasinan, Albay, and Davao City were placed under GCQ status while the rest of the country was placed under modified GCQ starting on Monday, June 1.

The DOH also noted lower rates for transmission and mortality for the coronavirus disease.

As of Monday afternoon, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 18,638, with 960 deaths and 3,979 recoveries.

GSG