The mere fact that the infection rate continues to increase means that the strategy of the Department of Health (DOH) is full of holes, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said today.
Lacson issued the statement as the recent infection rate has been hitting more than 1,000 cases a day compared to the March rate of 200 cases daily.
One reason, according to Lacson, is that the DOH has not been forthcoming on the real or actual data of infection.
He said the very low testing rate produced very low infection rate. ‘’Dapat accurate ang data ng DOH,’’ he added.
Lacson also blamed lack of contact tracing as earlier pointed out by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III during a recent open forum attended by President Duterte.
“Tapos pati mga protocol hindi nasusunod,’’ he said, referring to the refusal of some Filipinos to use face masks or observe social distancing.
Lacson conceded that the increasing number of laboratories using the RT-Polymerase (RT-PCR) process has resulted in increased numbers of infections.
He said results of tests that used to be released from 14 days to seven days should be known in one to two days with the RT-PCR testing process being used.
Lacson defended the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) as adopting procedures to contain the spread of the virus such as imposition of quarantines and the many arrests of violators of health protocols, ” he said.
“Pero gawain ng pulis yan dahil kung hindi, lalong lalala ng lalala. Ngayon medyo nga medyo masama ang tayo kaya kailangan makibagay ang ating kababayan na huwag mag-insist na di naman importante na lakad ay bakit lalakad pa, sasakay ng pampublikong sasakyan, lolobo ang kaso, nasa 52,000 na tayo (That is the job of policemen. If they do not do their jobs, the infection rate will worsen),” he said.
Our position in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic is precarious. “That is why the people should cooperate and should not insist on going out if there are no important reasons. If not, the rate will increase further. Our infection rate is now 52,000),” he said.