Palace urges public to disprove experts' projection of 60,000 COVID-19 cases by July 31

Malacañang on Monday urged the public to observe precautionary measures so that the country’s COVID-19 cases will not reach more than 60,000 by July 31 as projected by a group of experts.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque called on the people to wear face masks, wash their hands, and observe physical distancing.

“Hinihimok ko kayo, let’s prove the UP data wrong, let’s have lesser cases of COVID-19,” he said in a televised briefing.

Roque said the Filipinos disproved earlier projection of 40,000 cases by the end of June after Sunday’s data showed that the country’s total infections stood at 35,455.

The experts have concluded that the “pandemic is still spreading,” with projections pointing to more than 60,000 COVID-19 cases nationwide by July 31, including 1,300 deaths. They also projected 27,000 cases and 15,000 cases in the National Capital Region and Cebu province, respectively, by July 31.

The group of experts is composed of University of the Philippines mathematics professor Dr. Guido David, UP political science assistant professor Ranjit Singh Rye, Ma. Patricia Agbulos of OCTA Research, and biology professor Rev. Fr. Nicanor Austriaco of Providence College and University of Santo Tomas.

They emphasized that the projected increase in cases and deaths could be prevented by “rapidly identifying and breaking chains of viral transmission.”

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the Philippines’ COVID-19 response, said he was satisfied with the implementation of the general community quarantine in the NCR as compared to Cebu City, which was reverted back to strict confinement measures due to the rising number of cases.

“I was very impressed na iyong ginagawa po ng ating mga 17 mayors, they are collectively looking really iyong mga stricter measures even iyong pagka-opening ng ating mga businesses,” Galvez said in the same briefing.

“I was very impressed that the implementation of Metro Manila is much much stricter of what we have seen in Cebu.”

President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to announce on Tuesday the quarantine classifications that will be implemented starting next month.—AOL, GMA News