Baguio, Valenzuela, Paranaque are Galvez's top cities for COVID-19 response

The pandemic response of Baguio, Valenzuela, and Parañaque should be the benchmark of other local governments as the Philippines continues to grapple with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday.

Galvez, chief implementer of the national government’s COVID-19 response, lauded local authorities in the three cities for their “holistic” action against the pandemic.

“In terms of best practices, we can say that Baguio City, Valenzuela City, and Parañaque City can be used as a benchmark in terms of its holistic and integrated approach in preventing the spread and mitigating the impact of the disease,” he said in a briefing.

Galvez commended the three local governments for implementing the Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate strategy against COVID-19 as well as their intensive contact tracing efforts.

Meanwhile, Galvez said the National Task Force Against COVID-19 advised mayors to allocate 1,000 beds exclusively for COVID-19 patients.

“Nagpapatupad din ang NCR mayors ng isang ‘no home quarantine protocol’ na kung saan mahigpit na ipinagbabawal ang pagpapagaling ng mga pasyente sa kanilang tahanan. Ako mismo ay sumasang-ayon sa istratehiyang ito,” he said.

“This is the reason why strong and decisive leadership among LGUs from the governor, mayor, barangay officials and medical professionals are needed, especially in implementing measures that will require the support of all members of the community,” he added.

The Philippines has recorded 228,403 COVID-19 cases with 159,475 recoveries and 3,688 deaths as of Thursday afternoon. -NB, GMA News