Malacañang was happy with the decrease, albeit little, of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Metro Manila, saying it was the result of the government's prevention, detection, isolation, treatment, and reintegration (PDITR) efforts.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement as areas of Metro Manila registered a lower number of cases over the past few days:
· Manila: 4,083 on April 15; down to 3,957 on April 18
· Muntinlupa: 1,692 on April 15; down to 1,578 on April 18
· Pasay: 480 on April 15; down to 390 on April 18
· Valenzuela: 1,218 on April 15; down to 1,173 on April 17
In his press briefing on Monday, Roque said the decrease was still significant.
"These are modest decreases but for the first time bumaba (it went down) so that is significant," he said.
"Modest as they may be, for the first time, siguro (maybe) in about a month, at least nagkaroon ng signal na bumababa kahit papaano (there is a signal that the number of cases is going down)," he added.
Roque attributed the modest decrease to the PDITR efforts of the government.
"Tingin ko ito yung resulta ng pinaigting na PDITR lalong-lalo na ng mga lokal na pamahalaan (I believe this is the result of the intensified PDITR, especially by the local government)," he said.
The National Capital Region-plus (NCR-plus) bubble area that covers Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal shifted to the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from a two-week ECQ on April 12. The MECQ will last until April 30.
According to Roque, the full effects of the government's intervention can be seen within the second or third week after the implementation of the ECQ.
Meanwhile, Roque said that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed five modular hospitals to address the bed capacity (BC) demands of COVID-19 patients.
So far, the DPWH has completed the following:
· 5 units at Quezon Institute Hospital (110 BC)
· 1 unit at Lung Center Hospital (16 BC)
· 1 unit at Dr. Jose Rodriguez Hospital (22 BC)
The DPWH was also currently constructing a 60-bed capacity unit at the National Kidney Transplant Institute and two units in Batangas City with 44 beds.