Palace to Robredo: We’re already working to curb COVID without vaccine

Malacañang on Wednesday said the government is already taking steps to curb the spread of COVID-19 after Vice President Leni Robredo pointed to a study that showed countries where the outbreak appears to be under control, even before the development of a vaccine.

On Tuesday, Robredo shared on social media a study by medical journal The Lancet which showed that 19 countries have limited new  infections to five or fewer per million population per day.

The Lancet said these 19 countries were Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, New Zealand, Uganda, Togo, Pakistan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Uruguay, South Korea, Finland, Cuba, and Rwanda.

It added COVID-19 “can and should” be suppressed through non-pharmaceutical interventions such as wearing face masks, practicing social distancing, banning mass gatherings, and protecting the vulnerable population.

The Vice President, who has repeatedly criticized the government’s response to the pandemic, said “if 19 countries were able to do it, no reason why we can’t.”

“Iyan nga po ay ginagawa na naman natin. Pahingi po ng bago Vice President dahil 'yan po ngayon ay ginagawa na ng pamahalaan. Kung hindi po tayo gumawa ng hakbang nga 3 million na po ang kaso natin as of June pa lang,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview aired on state-run PTV.

“Hindi po perpekto, pero sa tingin ko po mga bulag at mga bingi lang ang hindi nakakakita doon sa mga ginawa ng gobyerno para ma-control nga ang COVID habang wala pang bakuna.”

Roque on Tuesday challenged Robredo to come up with a solution to the COVID-19 crisis even as the world has yet to find a vaccine and cure for the disease.

The Palace official said Robredo might become president if she succeeds in finding a solution.

The same Lancet study ranked the Philippines 66th out of 91 countries in COVID-19 suppression, saying it was partly due to the medical populism allegedly espoused by Duterte. — BM, GMA News