Public cooperation to help flatten Covid-19 curve: Lorenzana

FILE: A cyclist traverses a bike lane with newly-installed protective barrier along East Avenue, Quezon City on Sunday (Aug. 23, 2020). (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

MANILA – There is a good chance that the Philippines could flatten the curve of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) within this month if everyone follows health and safety protocols, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

“Yes, we can. What will we do to achieve it? Strictly implement the health protocols and follow the campaign plan developed by the NTF (National Task Force) – the PDITR: protect, detect, isolate, treat, and reintegrate,” the chair of the NTF against Covid-19 said in a message on Tuesday night.

Lorenzana was commenting on the possibility of flattening the Covid-19 curve as predicted by a research group from the University of the Philippines (UP), which cited the decline in the number of infections in the past few days.

He said the PDITR contains step-by-step processes to be done in work areas, homes, and public transportation to prevent infection and eradicate Covid-19.

“The NTF has disseminated this to the businesses, regional task forces, and LGUs (local government units). If everyone follows this plan, we will not only flatten the curve but bring it down,” Lorenzana added.

Researchers from UP said the flattening of the curve in the country’s Covid-19 situation may be reached by the end of August or by September.

They said the disease’s “reproduction rate” in the country fell from 1.5 to 1.1 after Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna reverted to the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from August 4 to 18.