TINIYAK ng Department of Health (DOH) na handa ang pamahalaan sa ‘worst case scenario’ kasunod nang pagsasailalim na sa Metro Manila at 38 pang lalawigan at lungsod sa pinakamaluwag na COVID-19 Alert Level 1 simula Marso 1 hanggang 15.
“We are prepared for the worst-case scenario,” ayon pa kay Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, sa isang panayam sa telebisyon. “Before we decided to deescalate we made an analysis of the capacity of the healthcare system of the country, regionally and locally.”
“What we have observed during the worst of the surges, the delta, ang taas ng ating healthcare utilization and pumutok din ang ating ICU bed utilization rate. ‘Yung severe and critical cases were extraordinarily high but we managed it. That was the litmus test,” aniya pa.
Paniniguro pa niya, ang pamahalaan ay mayroong transition plan patungo sa ‘new normal’ na maaari aniyang matapos sa kalagitnaan ng susunod na linggo. “This is something we’ll launch after all inputs from different sectors have been submitted.”
Idinagdag pa ng kalihim na ang COVID-19 virus ay mananatili na kaya’t kailangang matuto ang mga mamamayan na mabuhay na kasama ito.
Maaari pa rin aniyang magkaroon ng surges sa hinaharap ngunit tiniyak na handa na ang bansa at mga mamamayan na kaharapin ito.
“The virus is here to stay and we’ll have to learn to live with it. The question is will there be no surges in the future, no we cannot say that. There can still be surges but are we ready to manage,” pahayag pa ng DOH chief.
