BAGUIO CITY April 02 – Regional and city health officials expressed their support to the proposal to extend the ongoing Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine to help in the government’s overall effort to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the city.
DOH-CAR regional director Dr. Amelita M. Pangilinan stated that for the health sector, it is necessary to extend the quarantine for another month to prevent people from converging and offering the host to the deadly virus that may result to the enormous increase in COVID-19 cases leading to the community transmission bringing about a more serious problem.
She pointed out what is being prevented by the prevailing policy for people to stay home is to deny the host that transmits the contagious virus thus ruining the gains of the prevailing quarantine considering that much has already been gained with the over three weeks of the implementation of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.
However, the DOH-CAR official claimed the agency will leave the matter of extending or lifting the existing quarantine to the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) on the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
Earlier, the IATF created a technical working group (TWG) to assess and evaluate the pros and cons of extending the quarantine for so that the members have the basis in the formulation of the future guidelines on post-quarantine measures.
On her part, City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo stated the strict implementation of the guidelines of the enhanced community quarantine has significantly contributed in reducing the exposure of the public to the deadly virus, especially with the practice of social distancing and for most people to stay at home when they have nothing to do outside their residences, saying that it is not yet time to lift the quarantine because it could create more serious problems for the city once there will be a sudden surge in persons under investigation (PUIs) and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Galpo claimed the country has not yet reached the supposed peak of the COVID thus it still best for the government to possible extend the quarantine as a precautionary measure in preventing the unnecessary surge in PUIs and COVID-19 cases, especially that the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) has been designated as one of the five sub-national testing centers in the country.
The city health officer disclosed the city government continuous to empower the frontliners in the fight against COVID-19 to ensure that the gains of the quarantine will not be negated by the impact of the lifting of the quarantine by the middle of this month as the national government is currently crafting the guidelines on a post-quarantine scenario.
By Dexter A. See
