Quarantine measures enforced by the government have helped the country succeed in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, according to Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Covid-19. He claimed it has even gradually contain the spread of the dreaded virus.
“Dalawang buwan mula nang ipatupad natin ang enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), nasaan na nga po ba tayo? Mga minamahal naming mga kababayan, ikinalulugod ko pong ibalita na sa ating patuloy na laban sa pandemyang ito, tayo po ay nagtatagumpay sa pagsugpo nito,” he announced in a virtual press briefing.
[Two months after implementing the ECQ, where are we now? Dear fellow countrymen, I am pleased to announce that as we continue to fight this pandemic, we are so far successful in suppressing the disease.]
Galvez credited this success as a result of implementing the NAP’s strategic framework, which includes the T3 (test, trace, and treat) program and the PDITRA program or “prevention, detection, isolation, treatment, reintegration, and adopting the new normal.”
The framework they employed, he said, aims to prevent the spread of the disease and limit its negative effect on the “community, economy, and security of the country.”
Galvez also shared the government’s efforts to ramp up testing capabilities nationwide.
“Sinisikap pa po nating dagdagan ang bilang na ito (We are doing our best to increase the accredited testing laboratories),” he said.
There are a total of 39 accredited testing laboratories: 21 are located in National Capital Region (NCR), six are in other parts of Luzon, seven in the Visayas, and five in Mindanao.
Galvez said 119 more testing laboratories now being assessed by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for accreditation. The testing centers of some 89 hospitals are lined up for approval in advanced stages of 3 and 4.
Each hospital has undergone the following assessment stages: self-assessment (stage 1), validation (stage 2), compliance (stage 3), proficiency testing (stage 4), and full-scale implementation (stage 5).
In addition, the government is also stockpiling 11 million PPE suits and other medical supplies until 2021 — “to ensure the safety and protection of every healthcare worker nationwide.”
Galvez earlier claimed that since the government has begun purchasing medical-grade Level-4 quality PPE sets, there has been “a great reduction of death cases among healthcare workers in the country.
He urged the public to adhere to government health protocols such as social distancing, wearing face masks, and adapting to the new normal.
