The government has firmed up contingency plans to secure more medical oxygen supplies as well as Remdevisir to help with the treatment of coronavirus patients in the country.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the country so far has sufficient oxygen supply but the government seeks to get additional supplies in case the demand for respiratory support for patients surges.
The country's oxygen supply was among the topics discussed in the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases last Thursday, May 6, according to Roque.
"In-assure naman po tayo na sapat-sapat ang supply natin, pero nagkaroon po tayo contingency kung paano po tayo kukuha ng karagdagang oxygen just in case kinakailangan po (We were assured that we have sufficient supply but we have a contingency on how to get additional oxygen just in case it will be needed)," Roque said over state television Friday, May 7.
Apart from oxygen supply, Roque said the government has also augmented the country's supply of medication used to manage COVID patients such as Remdevisir. The antiviral medication, he said, has been proven effective to ease the COVID symptoms of a patient.
"So tayo naman po ay mayroong foresight at tayo po ay natuto na kung ano ang dapat gawin, dahil mahigit isang taon na COVID pandemic sa atin at alam na rin po natin kung paano mas mapapagaling ang mga nagkaka-COVID (We have foresight and we learned on what should be done because the COVID pandemic has already been a year and we know how to treat those with COVID)," he said.
"So nag-i-stockpile na rin tayo ng karagdagang mga napatunayan ng epektibong gamot gaya ng Remdesivir, dahil nga po kinakailangang paghandaan (We have stockpiled additional supply of proven medicines like Remdesivir because we need to prepare)," he added.
The country's cases of infections recently soared past a million following the detection of various coronavirus strains. The surge in coronavirus cases however has slowed down in recent days as the government imposed tighter movement controls in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces.
After a two-week strict lockdown, National Capital Region Plus has shifted to the less restrictive modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until May 14 to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease.
An entry ban has also been imposed by the government on travelers coming from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain first detected in the South Asian nation. The testing and quarantine protocols for arriving passengers have also been revised as a precaution against the coronavirus.