An epidemiologist on Monday, March 29, said the one-week implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces is not enough to reduce the increasing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country.
In a virtual briefing, Department of Health (DOH) epidemiology bureau chief Dr. Althea de Guzman said cases might slightly decline during the one-week ECQ but will increase once restrictions are eased.
"Yung isang linggong ECQ natin, bababa nang kaunti . Pero posible pong tumaas na naman ang dami ng kaso natin matapos ang ECQ. Kaya yung isa sa pino-propose, yung isa sa nirerekomenda natin ay baka kinakailangang i-extend. Dahil dun sa pag-extend, doon natin nakikita yung tuloy-tuloy na pagbaba ng kaso" (Our cases will go down a bit because of this one-week ECQ but it is possible that the number of our cases will increase again after the ECQ. So we are recommending, maybe we need to extend it. That way we can continuously decrease our cases)," she added.
De Guzman appealed to the public to strictly adhere to minimum public health standards (MPHS) to avoid another ECQs in the future.
"Naiintindihan natin ang economic implication nito, hindi ito isang desisyon na gagawin natin nang mabilisan. Titingnan natin ang mga datos sa isang linggo kung kinakailangan talaga ito. Ang pakiusap po natin para tayo ay hindi tuloy-tuloy pabalik-balik sa ECQ, mag-MPHS po tayo (We understand the economic implications of this, it is not a decision we can make quickly. We will have to look at the data first if this is what we really need. Our request is for us not to go back and forth to ECQ, so let's do MPHS)," she added.
Public are advised to not congregate outside homes, avoid non-essential travels, and non-essential activities.
Symptomatic individuals are also asked to seek consultation immediately. Close contacts of COVID-19 positive and even COVID-19 suspected individuals are required to isolate and to coordinate as soon as possible with their respective local government units.
De Guzman also urged workers to comply with health and safety protocols.
"Ang isang obserbasyon po namin kaya dumadami ang kaso sa mga opisina, nagsasama-sama po tayong kumain pag break time (One of our observations is that the number of cases in the offices are increasing because employees are eating together during break time," she added.
Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal have been placed under ECQ starting Monday, March 29, until Easter Sunday, April 4 following the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.