Senator Sherwin Gatchalian suggested the government should build more temporary hospitals to accommodate more COVID-19 patients rather than returning Metro Manila and other high-risk areas under a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
“‘Yung [modified enhanced community quarantine] or [enhanced community quarantine] is a very painful methodology for our people, marami talaga mawawalan ng trabaho at maraming magugutom [many would lose their jobs and would experience hunger],” he said in a virtual interview.
“I would rather address the health system by putting up more temporary hospitals. Nag-MECQ and ECQ naman tayo para ‘yung health system natin ‘di ma-overwhelm or mag-reach ng full capacity,” he added.
(We underwent MECQ and ECQ so our health system would not be overwhelmed or reach full capacity.)
Gatchalian believes that though mega quarantine facilities are already in place, putting up more makeshift hospitals like what China and Spain did would be more effective in treating mild COVID-19 cases.
Malacañang said Wednesday that Metro Manila may be placed under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) again if the number of COVID-19 in the Philippines would reach 85,000 by July 31, as projected by the University of the Philippines (UP) experts.
“That’s a distinct possibility, although it’s a possibility that I wish would not happen,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told CNN Philippines in an interview.
“If we have to and there’s no alternative, we need to do it,” he added, citing the economy could not take another lockdown.
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The Metro Manila was under MECQ from May 16 to 31 and is now under a more relaxed general community quarantine.
The Department of Health data showed Metro Manila had recorded 25,944 active cases and 976 deaths as of July 23.
As of yesterday, the Philippines logged 74,390 cases, 24,383 recoveries, and 1,871 deaths.
According to the UP projection, the number of infections could reach up to 85,000 and includes projected 2,200 deaths by end-July. The figures were based on the assumption that the virus’s current reproduction rate and government interventions would not change.
The UP professors and researchers presented President Rodrigo Duterte, a report showing COVID-19’s reproduction rate of 1.75 from 1.28 in June’s projection.
The report added that the reproduction rate should be less than one. Meanwhile, a value higher than one indicates the virus is spreading.