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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Gov't became 'relaxed' in COVID-19 efforts, too, Gatchalian says

Gov't became 'relaxed' in COVID-19 efforts, too, Gatchalian says

Published Apr 10, 2021 12:01 pm

Even the government became complacent about the Philippine's COVID-19 situation before the new coronavirus variants started infecting more Filipinos.

(Photo by Jam STA ROSA / AFP)

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian made the observation on Saturday, April 10, as he pointed out that health and medical interventions should not have stopped even as daily novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases declined and remained at a steady rate in the past few months.

"We just have to admit that govt (including myself) relaxed when cases plateaued at 2 day," Gatchalian wrote on Twitter.

The senator said the country "should have continued" to increase its testing capacity to 100,000 daily.

Gatchalian said authorities should likewise have worked to at least double hospital capacities, as well as to establish one testing laboratory in all cities of the country.

He also reiterated the need for a unified contract tracing application and increased contact tracing capability by more than 50 percent.

"Moral lesson: This is long game. Govt needs to continuously build capacities to all aspects. This virus is unpredictable," Gatchalian pointed out.

Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III had repeatedly blamed the Filipinos' non-compliance to minimum health protocols for the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, besides the emergence of new variants and the easing of quarantine protocols to reopen the economy.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in virtual briefing last March, also said that the Philippines has "improved so much" and is "now more prepared" to handle the pandemic, particularly in terms of health care capacity.

The Philippines so far recorded a total of 840,554 COVID-19 cases with the addition of 12,225 confirmed new infections on April 9.

Last April 2, the country lodged its highest single-day tally of new cases at 15,310, exceeding the number of cases when the outbreak was at its peak in July to August last year.

14,250 patients have succumbed to the disease as of April 9.

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