Drilon: Enemy is rise in COVID-19 cases not UP prediction
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Franklin Drilon said the Philippines must focus on addressing the rise in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections instead of winning against the prediction of experts from the University of the Philippines (UP).
“Huwag nating pansinin kung mas mataas tayo. Ang pansinin natin is kung ano ang ating magagawa. Ang infection rate. Iyan po ang ating kalaban. Hindi iyong mga prediction ng UP kaya nanalo tayo. That’s neither here nor there,” Drilon said in an interview over DWIZ on Saturday.
(Let us not see if we have the highest cases of COVID. What we should look into is how we can address this. The infection rate. That is our enemy. Not UP’s prediction if we won against it.)
The senator said “change of human behavior is important” while the strict lockdown is being enforced. Metro Manila and nearby areas are currently under modified enhanced community quarantine to allow health workers to revive from the exhaustion they experienced during the less strict lockdown.
Intensified contact tracing and testing should also be done during the strict lockdown, Drilon also noted.
As of August 8, the Philippines documented a total of 126,885 COVID-19 cases including 67,117 recoveries and 2,209 deaths.
