MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) took back what its chief Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier declared as it agreed that the Philippines remains is still dealing with the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
Dr. Beverly Ho, director of the DOH Promotion and Communications Service, conveyed the agency’s apology following the confusion caused by the statement of Duque to the senators in a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
“The DOH confirms that yes we are (still) on the first wave of COVID-19 epidemic driven by a local community transmission,” Ho said in a virtual press conference on Thursday afternoon.
“We apologize for the confusion that this has caused but we hope that this does not in any way distract us from what we really need to do to change the course of this pandemic,” she added.
Duque told the senators the other day that the COVID-19 situation in the country is already on second wave as what considered as the first wave was the three cases of Chinese national from Wuhan in January.
Duque’s interpretation was supported by epidemiologist John Wong, a member of the sub-technical working group on data analytics of the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19.
His analysis, however, was contested by many, including Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who said earlier yesterday that the first three cases of COVID-19 in the country last January cannot be considered a wave.
“Tayo po ngayon ay nasa first wave,” Roque said in a virtual press conference. “Napakaliit naman ng tatlong kaso para maging isang wave. Sabihin nating hindi siya nagkamali, pero nagkaroon ng ibang opinyon.”
Roque apologized for the confusion as he admitted that Duque did not inform President Rodrigo Duterte about his interpretation regarding a second wave of infections.
“Nagpapaumanhin po kami kung kayo ay naalarma pero ang katunayan po ang siyensya naman po at importante ang pagbasa sa mga waves para alam natin ang gagawin na response,” Roque said.
Duque said during a Senate inquiry on Wednesday that the COVID-19 situation that the country is already experiencing the second wave of COVID-19 cases, following the first wave in January that was composed of three Chinese nationals.
He warned that a third wave of COVID-19 transmission would be the “worst case scenario” for Metro Manila if it will be placed under general community quarantine without enough testing.
Aside from Roque, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año have also expressed opposition with Duque’s interpretation./PN
