The week in review (March 30 to April 5, 2020)

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

March 31, 2020

National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 chief implementer, Peace Process Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. says the government is preparing to carry out “massive testing” of persons under monitoring (PUM) and persons under investigation (PUI) for the novel coronavirus, as well as health workers on the front lines of battling the pandemic. On April 2, he sets the target date for the start of the testing on April 14.

April 1, 2020

Hungry protest

Residents of Sitio San Roque in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City take to the streets to protest a lack of supplies, saying they have yet to receive food packs since the lockdown started March 17.  

Twenty-one people are arrested by Quezon City police and face multiple charges. Bail is set at P15,000. On April 3, Frankie Pangilinan tweets she will sponsor bail for one. The daughter of Senator Francis Pangilinan and “Megastar” Sharon Cuneta follows it up with another tweet, saying her parents will pay bail for the remaining 20.

That night, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte accuses leftist groups of stirring public sentiment against the government during the coronavirus crisis and warns them that if they cause trouble or put lives in danger, he wouldn't hesitate to order authorities to "shoot them dead."

Free coronavirus treatment

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) says it will continue to cover expenses of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) until April 14.

#ProtectVico

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin announces they have summoned Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto "for disobeying national government policies or directives in imposing quarantines." #ProtectVico tops the Twitter trending topic worldwide shortly after.

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya calls the NBI’s invitation to Sotto “a useless, political distraction.”  He cites Justice Menardo Guevarra who points out that Vico’s alleged violation of the Bayanihan Act was done prior to the passage of the Bayanihan Act.

Vico already cooperated with the DILG and banned the use of tricycles as public transportation in compliance with IATF guidelines on March 19, days before the Bayanihan Act was signed into law on March 24.

April 2, 2020

Longer hours

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the management of emerging infectious diseases urges all supermarkets, pharmacies, and other similar establishments to operate up to 12 hours to give residents more time to purchase essential goods. The IATF also suggests scheduled market days per sector, barangay, or purok among other possible solutions to people spending long hours outside their homes when they should be on home quarantine.

Face masks required

Luzon residents are now required to wear face masks or improvised face shields when leaving their homes to work or buy essential goods. They can use “earloop masks, indigenous, reusable or do-it-yourself masks, face shields, handkerchiefs, or such other protective equipment that can effectively lessen the transmission of COVID-19,” says Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who also speaks for the IATF.

National Quarantine Centers

Nograles says the Philippine International Convention Center and the Ninoy Aquino Stadium inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex will be fully functional by April 10 while the World Trade Center will be ready by April 12.

These national quarantine centers are being set up to decongest hospitals overwhelmed with the rising number of COVID-19 cases. They are being retrofitted to separately house patients with milder symptoms and potential carriers awaiting tests or test results.

Others also being eyed as quarantine facilities are: Quezon Institute; Duty-Free Philippines, Parañaque; Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City; Quezon Memorial Circle and Veterans Memorial Medical Center complex. Bases and Conversion Development Authority President and chief executive officer Vince Dizon says the cost of setting up the quarantine facilities were shouldered by private partners.

On April 4, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) agrees to let the government use its Ciudad de Victoria estate as a quarantine facility. The 75-hectare complex in Bocaue, Bulacan includes the Philippine Arena, the Philippine Sports Stadium, and several other facilities that can house patients and medical staff. Once readied, the whole complex will have an estimated 1,065 rooms for patients, while frontliners will be able to share 476 suites good for 2 to 4 health workers each. 

No Competition

President Rodrigo Duterte sacks Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner Manuelito Luna for issuing a statement that the NBI should investigate Vice President Leni Robredo for "competing" with the national government. He says that Robredo’s efforts to help frontliners “compete with, or are calculated to undermine, National Government efforts in this time of public health emergency or national calamity."

"As of this moment, he's no longer connected with government," Duterte says in a late night speech.

April 3, 2020

U.P. Test Kits

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the test kits developed by the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Health (UP-NIH).

 

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) says Manila HealthTek Inc. will prioritize for manufacturing 1,300 test kits funded by the DOST and the UP National Institutes of Health project that can accommodate 26,000 tests.

These will be distributed to the following hospitals from April 4 to 25: Philippine General Hospital, Manila; Makati Medical Center; The Medical City, Pasig City; Baguio General Hospital; Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Cebu City; and Southern Philippines Medical Center, Davao City.

Other hospitals may buy UP NIH test kits for the second rollout, which could process 94,000 tests. Each costs around P1,300 per kit, which is cheaper than those being sold in hospitals at around P8,000.

Rapid Pass

The “RapidPassPH” System is introduced. The system aims to address heavy queuing, while minimizing human contact between those passing through and those manning the checkpoints. The system, which uses QR code-based technology to speed up the entry of frontliners and the delivery of essential goods like food and medicine, is scheduled for rollout on April 6, initially in 56 checkpoints in Metro Manila.

April 4, 2020

Parameters

The (IATF) says the decision on a possible extension, as well as the partial or total lifting of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine depends on the following:

• Trends in the COVID-19 epidemiological curve, which include, among others, the doubling time, acceleration, or deceleration of new cases;
• Capacity of the health care system, which includes, among others, the number and availability of quarantine, isolation, and treatment facilities; the capability to mount contact tracing; availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to frontliners, and the testing capacity of the country;
• Social factors;
• Economic factors; and
• Security factors

Discrimination vs. frontliners

The IATF warns that acts of discrimination inflicted upon healthcare workers, OFWs, COVID-19 cases, whether confirmed or suspected, recovered or undergoing treatment, as well as patients under investigation and persons under monitoring “will be dealt with criminally, civilly, and/or administratively.” The task force also urges local government units to issue executive orders or enact ordinances “prohibiting and penalizing these discriminatory acts.”

Intellectual Liar

In a late night speech, President Duterte lashes out at human rights lawyer Chel Diokno for taking on as client, one of those being investigated by the NBI for taking to social media and posting about the "alleged misuse of government funds" related to the response to contain the spread of the coronavirus. 

The President mocks Diokno’s failed senatorial bid, poking fun at his appearance, and calling him an "intellectual liar."

Salary aid

A majority of Cabinet members have pledged to voluntarily donate 75 percent of their monthly salary to aid the government’s fight against the COVID-19, says Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.

April 5, 2020

Chinese doctors

Medical experts from China arrive in the Philippines to assist and advise the Philippine government on efforts to address the outbreak of the COVID-19. The 12-man medical team seeks to provide technical advice on epidemic prevention and control, as well as share medical treatment experience.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of April 5, 2020, the Philippines has reported 3,246 confirmed corona virus cases, including 64 recoveries and 152 deaths.