Hospitals in Metro Manila are “not yet ready” to transition to a less strict quarantine restriction this week, a physicians’ group said.
Philippine College of Physicians President Dr. Mario Panaligan reiterated ramping up measures and policies to battle the pandemic should be simultaneously done with the strict MECQ.
“I should say, not yet (ready to shift to general community quarantine). Primarily because we’re still seeing many patients who are consulting the hospitals,” Panaligan said.
“There’s now this referral network that the One Hospital Command is doing. We just have to intensify it, making sure the referral network really functions well so that all those individuals who need to be transferred to other institutions can be done immediately,” he added.
Aside from boosting the hospital referral system, the group also sought for the intensification of the country’s telemedicine programs, as well as case detection methods and contact tracing protocols.
