Doctor emphasizes that ECQ not enough to address COVID-19 surge

The two-week enhanced community quarantine imposed on Metro Manila and nearby provinces from March 29 to April 11 was not enough to address the COVID-19 surge as hospitals were still overwhelmed, St. Luke's Medical Center chief medical officer said.

“It’s a warning for everyone that even if we had two weeks of ECQ, considering this unexpected surge since I think Friday night and the whole Saturday and Sunday, puro ICU-able eh,” Dr. Benjamin Campomanes Jr. said in a report on “24 Oras Weekend.”

The latest data from the Department of Health showed that 68% of the country’s intensive care unit beds and 47% of the mechanical ventilators were already utilized.

Meanwhile, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines said the solution to the ongoing health crisis was not just the lockdowns, but contact tracing and vaccinations as well.

PHAPi President Dr. Jose Rene de Grano said intensive contact tracing and a faster pace of vaccinations were key to solving the pandemic.

“Proper way ng pag-contact tracing and also ‘yung vaccination. Kung maayos natin ‘yong vaccination, siyempre in a way after vaccination, two weeks after, may immunity na ang mga tao,” de Grano said.

Over 1.2 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered as of April 13, government data showed.

In their latest vaccine statistics bulletin, the Department of Health and National Task Force Against COVID-19 said 1,255,716 doses have been administered out of the 3,025,600 doses delivered to the country.

A total of 1,093,651 people have gotten their first shot and 162,065 individuals have received both doses since the start of the rollout on March 1.

The Philippines has so far recorded 936,133 cases of COVID-19 with 779,084 recoveries and 15,960 deaths. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/DVM, GMA News