NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Oct 15 (PIA) –- The country' response against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is in the right direction, says Department of Health official.
During the Laging Handa Network Briefing, October 14, hosted by Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeir said there are good indications that the country’s response is in the right direction in its fight against COVID-19, but there is no flattening of the curve yet.
She disclosed that as of October 13, the country has 44,958 active cases for COVID-19 with 1,990 newly reported cases.
“Generally, we are seeing better picture with the decrease in cases here in the country. We are now on 85 percent recovery rate at 1.8 percent fatality rate. We can see that we are averaging about 2,000-2,200 new cases per day compared to previous weeks and months that we even reached up to 3,500 cases per day” Vergeire said.
When asked by the program’s media guest Bombo Radyo-Bacolod’s Daniel Lecciones if the country is experiencing flattening of the curve, she explained that flattening the curve does not only mean decreasing the number of cases.
"The objective of the flattening of the curve is making the increase in numbers in a longer period of time to enable the health system to cope with the pandemic," she pointed out.
Vergeire added “We need to look at both the numbers and the capacity of our health system. As of now, we can see that the capacity of the whole country in the utilization of the critical care component is at 47 percent."
The DOH warned that "even if we are seeing a decrease in the number of cases, public should not be complacent at this point and to stay vigilant as there are still clusters in other parts of the country that are greatly affected."
Meanwhile, Victorias City mayor and president of Association of Chief Executives of Negros Occidental Francis Frederick “Wantan” Palanca as main guest of the program sought clarification with Vergeire on the access for results of local government unit's residents in other areas of the province like those working in the capital city of Bacolod City and go home to Victorias from time to time.
Vergeire told Palanca that at the moment the protocol is the current address where the patient is, that is, where the patient is counted or listed.
She, however, but also suggested for a better LGU to LGU coordination. *(JBG/EAD-PIA6 Negros Occidental)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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