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Duterte Cabinet, IATF hold weekend meeting to tackle medical workers' 'concerns'


Members of the Cabinet and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) gathered Saturday night to discuss concerns by the medical community, which earlier in the day asked that Metro Manila be placed anew under an enhanced community quarantine.

The meeting was called by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, according to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr.

Attending the meeting were Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Interior and Local Government Secretary  Eduardo Ano, National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and Roque.

Also in attendance were Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Michael Ong, Presidential Assistant for Foreign Affairs Robert Borje, and National Task Force (NTF) Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr.

They were joined by the "anti-COVID czars" namely: Deputy Chief Implementer of the NTF Vince Dizon and One Hospital Incident Command Chief Leopoldo Vega.

Senator Bong Go, as Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, also attended the meeting.

The meeting was meant "to address the concerns of the medical community," which had called for a two-week "time out" as it urged the government to put Metro Manila back under an ECQ.

They said the period could be used by health workers to recuperate from exhaustion and by the government to recalibrate its strategies against the global pandemic, as the cases of COVID-19 in the country continue to increase.

Recommendations from the meeting will later tonight be submitted for review of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Cabinet and the IATF members convened following an order from Duterte to tackled the medical community's request to return to an ECQ status. -MDM, GMA News

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