Reimposing a stricter coronavirus lockdown in the country may not be warranted at this time despite the reported increase in cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Malacañang declared Monday.
According to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, the country still has adequate capacity to provide proper health care to people who may contract serious coronavirus illness.
The local economy also cannot afford another strict lockdown since there are already many people who are "hungry," Roque added.
"For the month of March, I don't think it is called for. Bakit po? Talagang datos ang ating pinagbabasehan (Why? We are using the health data as basis)," he said during a Palace press briefing Monday, March 8, when asked if the government will consider a shift to either enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or modified enhanced community quarantine (MGCQ) in the face of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
"Sabihin na natin dumami ang kaso pero nakikita natin na handa tayong gamutin yung mga seryosong magkakasakit na 2 to 3 percent na magkakasakit (Let's say the cases have increased but we can see thatt we are ready to provide care to people with serious illness, the 2 to 3 percent who may get sick)," he added.
As of March 7, Roque said that 65 percent of 13,500 isolation beds remain available while 60 percent of 1,900 intensive care unit (ICU) beds can still be used. Around 75 percent of the 6,000 ward beds are not yet occupied.
Roque, however, recognized the need to step up compliance with minimum public health standards such as wearing of masks and shields and safe distancing, to stem the spread of the illness. Testing, contact tracing and isolation protocols must also be enhanced at the local level.
"Sa ganitong mga pamamaraan kahit ano pang variant, mababantayan natin ang pagkalat ng sakit at nananawagan din kami sa lokal na pamahalaan na may kapangyarihan kayo na magdeklara ng mga localized lockdown (Through these efforts, we can manage the spread of the illness regardless of the variants. We also appeal to local government units that they have the authority to declare localized lockdown)," he said.
"Hindi na natin kaya na mag-lockdown ng ating ekonomiya. Napakarami ng nagugutom. So ang ating panawagan, pangalagaan ang ating mga sarili para tayo ay makapaghanapbuhay ( We can no longer afford to place the economy on lockdown. Many people are getting hungry. Our appeal is let's take care of our health so we can resume our livelihood)," he said.
For the month of March, Metro Manila and nine places have been placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) to curb the spread of the COVID-19 illness. The other GCQ areas are Apayao, Baguio City, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Batangas, Tacloban City, Iligan City, Davao City, and Lanao del Sur.
The rest of the country stayed under the least restrictive modified GCQ (MGCQ) from March 1 to 31.
The country recently recorded more than 594,000 cases of coronavirus with over 12,500 deaths. More than 3,000 cases have been reported daily in the recent days amid concerns about the presence of new COVID-19 variants in the country.
The government has gradually relaxed movement restrictions to enhance business activities, domestic consumption, and promote livelihood in the country. The country fell into recession last year after the pandemic weakened the local economy and drove many people jobless and hungry.