Philippines still unable to control COVID-19 –Manuel Dayrit

More than six months since the country had gone into some form of quarantine, former Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit on Saturday said the Philippines was still unable to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“We’re trying to control it, but we’re not able to control it, and that’s why it’s an upward curve. It could be far worse. But certainly, if your benchmarks are countries like Thailand or Vietnam, you know, we’re not doing as well as them,” Dayrit said in JP Soriano’s 24 Oras Weekend report.

For its part, the National Action Plan against COVID-19 acknowledged and thanked Dayrit for his observations.

However, it stressed that the Philippines was not the only country facing difficulties in controlling the spread of COVID-19.

“Pipilitin po talaga natin na ma-control ang mga kaso. At ang ating action plan ay sa tingin natin ay nagwo-work na siya sa pamamagitan ng mga iba’t ibang mga intervention na ginagawa natin ngayon,” Secretary Vince said.

“Pero kailangan natin pagtingin pa ng todo ang ating response at magagawa lang natin ’to kung tulong-tulong tayo,” Dizon added.

The Philippines on Saturday reported a total of 257,863 cases with 187,116 recoveries and 4,292 fatalities. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News