Manila Bulletin

Too early to give in to NEDA’s GCQ proposal – medical expert

By CHARISSA LUCI-ATIENZA

An infectious disease expert said Wednesday, May 5, it is still premature to give in to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Karl Kendrick Chua’s proposal to place the National Capital Region (NCR)-plus under a less stringent community quarantine status this May.

Dr. Rontgene Solante, chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine unit of San Lazaro Hospital, said the number of positive cases recorded per day and the number of hospital admissions should be factored in before the government places Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) by middle or end of the month as proposed by Chua.

“At this point masyado pang maaga para natin titingnan na magdecision tayo na iopen natin [ag ating ekonomiya] kagaya ng suggestion ng NEDA (And at this point it is too early for us to see that we decide to open [our economy] as suggested by NEDA),” he said in a TeleRadyo interview. He urged the government to take a second look at Chua’s proposal and at the same time, consider the status of the country’s healthcare system, particularly the capacity of the hospitals in the country to accommodate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

“Tingnan natin in the next sa 5 to 7 days medyo malayo pa naman yang [May 14] na yan para lang makita natin yung ang tiitingan natin dito ang positive case per day saka 'yung mga naadmit sa hospital para makita lang natin ang kapabilidad ng hospital na pag May 14 kung medyo maluwang na hospital so mukhang kaya naman siguro (Let's see in the next 5 to 7 days, May 14 is still a bit far so that we can see the positive cases per day and then those who were admitted to the hospital so that we can assess the capacity of the hospital. And if hospitals are no longer congested by May 14, it looks like we can do it),” Solante said.

He explained that amid the decreasing positivity rate and reproduction number, hospitals in the NCR remain at full capacity because it takes time for severe COVID-19 patients to fully recover. The member of the country’s vaccine expert panel (VEP) noted that the country recorded high number of severe and critical cases of COVID-19.

“Kasi the past two weeks, or a week ago, ang taas ng mga kaso natin, so minsan yung mga na-admit na hindi pa fully recovered… it takes time kasi di ba nakita natin antaas ng severe at critical na kaya ngayon kaya nga ganyan ang nangyayari dahil yang mga hospital hindi pa talaga nakabwelo na makabante na medyo mas marami rami (Because the past two weeks, or a week ago, our cases were high, so sometimes, those who were admitted have not been fully recovered. It takes time because we have seen high number of severe and critical cases, that’s why that’s happening because the hospitals have yet to bounce back),” Solante said.

The Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in the NCR-Plus has been extended until May 14. MECQ includes a stay-athome rule, except for work and essential needs, ban on large gatherings, as well as limited business operations and public transportation.

In a meeting with President Duterte on Monday night Chua said the country “cannot be in MECQ for the entire year.” He said to achieve its economic targets, the Philippines should open the economy as soon as it can.

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2021-05-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

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