MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) refused to acknowledge the findings of the University of the Philippines-OCTA Research Team that the country has flattened its coronavirus pandemic curve.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said authorities still need to conduct further studies to validate claim of the research team’s fellow Dr. Guido David as their findings show Metro Manila and Calabarzon are starting to exhibit improvements.
Vergeire added that the objective of flattening the curve is to “spread the increase of the number of new cases over a longer period of time” to avoid overwhelming the healthcare system’s capacity.
“Titingnan ho natin, basta itutuloy natin ang strategies na ginagawa natin ngayon but we cannot really confirm yet na ito na po talaga ang sinasabing flattening of the curve,” Vergeire told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
“Kailangan pa ho natin ng mas maraming pag-aaral. Kailangan po nating tingnan ang lahat ng factors. Though our numbers are going down these past days, kailangan din nating tingnan [kung] ano naman ang estado ng ating health system,” she added.
“With this prediction of UP OCTA, kami po ay bukas naman sa lahat ng estimates na ito. Amin pong ginagamit din bilang gabay para sa ahensiya. Pero ang sa ‘min po, we’d like to monitor and further study the situation,” she furthered.
During Monday’s address, President Duterte lauded the public for following health protocols imposed by government that “led to the flattening of the country’s pandemic curve.”
“No significant contamination has been noted by government. This means that the government efforts that were guided by the best interest of public health and the crucial data provided by medical science paid off,” Duterte said.
“One important factor that contributed to this development is the awareness of the public. And we truly appreciate the majority of those who were following the minimum health protocols set by the IATF,” he added./PN
