In a bid to stress to the public the importance of following health protocols, the government's pandemic task force is set to distribute modules to different barangays in the country, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said.
Nograles made the statement as the country continues to grapple with the effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that has so far affected 1,118,359 people in the country.
In an interview with Super Radyo DZBB, Nograles said the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will now focus on the barangays to ensure the compliance of the public with minimum health standards.
"Yung next step natin sa IATF talaga drill down na tayo sa mga barangay. Meron tayong ginagawang pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga barangay (Our next step in the IATF is really to drill down in the barangay level. We have been coordinating with them)," he said on Sunday morning.
According to the IATF co-chair, the body has been preparing modules that will detail the government's PDITR (prevention, detection, isolation, treatment, and reintegration) method, among other measures.
"May ginagawa na tayong mga modules at talagang makikipag-ugnayan na talaga kami sa mga barangay down to the hanggang doon sa mga purok-purok nila (We have been preparing modules and have been coordinating with the barangays so we can bring it even to the purok level)," Nograles said.
"Para yung mga modules natin sa prevention... Lahat ng mga kailangan na paghihigpit at pagko-comply sa lahat ng protocols ay hanggang sa purok (So that our modules on prevention and all measures that need to be strictly enforced and complied with will be disseminated even to the purok)," he added
The country has been facing a spike in COVID-19 cases since March, prompting Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal to revert to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
President Duterte on Thursday approved to downgrade the said areas, collectively known as the National Capital Region (NCR-plus) bubble area to a stricter version of the general community quarantine (GCQ) until the end of the month.
Duterte himself has been reminding the public to always follow health protocols, particularly the wearing of face masks and shields, proper handwashing, and physical distancing to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.