{"id":248561,"date":"2020-03-16T01:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=248561"},"modified":"2020-03-16T01:00:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T05:00:17","slug":"rate-of-coronavirus-spread-to-determine-govts-next-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/16\/rate-of-coronavirus-spread-to-determine-govts-next-step\/","title":{"rendered":"Rate of coronavirus spread to determine govt\u2019s next step"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
COVID-19 TEST. A member of the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region checks temperature of people in a passenger jeepney using thermal scanner as the 30-day \u2018community quarantine\u2019 in Metro Manila begins on Sunday (March 15, 2020). The community quarantine was implemented to contain the spread of coronavirus disease or Covid-19. (PNA Photo By Avito C. Dalan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Malaca\u00f1ang said the rate of the spread of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection will determine whether the government will consider implementing a \u201ccomplete lockdown\u201d in Metro Manila.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark as the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of Sunday night soared to 140 with 12 deaths during the first day of the implementation of the month-long \u201ccommunity quarantine\u201d which will end on April 14.<\/p>\n

\u201cIyon talaga ang magiging konsiderasyon<\/em>\u00a0(Those are what is being considered — how fast people are being infected, how fast people are being exposed from infected people),\u201d he said in an interview over DZMM on Sunday.<\/p>\n

He said if a complete lockdown is necessary to control the spread of the disease, it would be considered.<\/p>\n

\u201cKung kinakailangan tayong mag<\/em>\u00a0complete lockdown\u00a0na, magla<\/em>-lockdown\u00a0na tayo, sapagka\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0exponentially,\u00a0kapag nagkahawaan tayo ay talagang mauubos tayo<\/em>\u00a0(If there is a need to have a complete lockdown, we\u2019ll have a lockdown. Because exponentially, if we infect each other we\u2019ll be wiped out),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the term used, he said what is important is to prevent contagion in the entire country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you call it lockdown or whatever,\u00a0ang importante hindi tayo magkahawaan. Iyan ang pinakaimportante rin, hindi na mahalaga kung anong itatawag mo diyan<\/em>\u00a0(what\u2019s important is we don\u2019t infect each other. That\u2019s what\u2019s important, not what term it\u2019s called),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he clarified that it will depend on daily assessments and recommendations of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases which will be convening again on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cPinag-uusapan at ini<\/em>-evaluate\u00a0araw-araw iyong mga kaganapan. Kung ano ang makakabuti sa ating lahat iyon ang gagawin natin<\/em>\u00a0(We are discussing and evaluating the developments. We\u2019re going to do what\u2019s best for all of us),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The decision whether or not to implement a complete lockdown, he said, could also be reached if the task force feels that the current community quarantine might be insufficient to control the spread of the highly-infectious disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cKasama iyon sa pag-uusapan bukas (Monday) kung ito ba ay<\/em>\u00a0sufficient\u00a0na iyong ginagawa natin o kailangan pa nating mas istrikto iyong ating gagawin dahil<\/em>\u00a0(Among topics to be discussed is whether or not what we\u2019re doing now is sufficient or if we need to be stricter because) — again, we will repeat, this is a matter of national survival, it\u2019s a matter of life and death. We really have to do something about ourselves otherwise,\u00a0damay-damay tayong lahat dito<\/em>\u00a0(we\u2019ll all be infected),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite these possible options, Panelo, citing Interior Secretary Eduardo A\u00f1o, said people have been \u201ccooperative\u201d during the first day of community quarantine with notably fewer people in the streets.<\/p>\n

The community quarantine, which will be in effect from March 15 to April 14, limits people\u2019s movement to \u201caccessing basic necessities and work\u201d and place uniformed personnel and quarantine personnel at border points.<\/p>\n

People outside Metro Manila are barred from entering the region, unless they are workers, departing passengers, and individuals aboard vehicles carrying cargoes.<\/p>\n

Metro Manila residents are also required to observe strict social distancing and avoid mass gatherings.<\/p>\n

It also suspends land, air, and sea travel to and from Metro Manila and classes at all levels.<\/p>\n

Amid criticism over the month-long community quarantine, A\u00f1o denied that there is an absolute lockdown in Metro Manila, saying that the movement of the people is merely \u201crestricted\u201d and that there could only be an absolute lockdown if \u201cenhanced\u201d community quarantine is implemented.<\/p>\n

Interior Assistant Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said community quarantine was intended to \u201csave lives\u201d following the World Health Organization\u2019s warning that the number of Covid-19 cases in the Philippines might reach 75,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2014 Malaca\u00f1ang said the rate of the spread of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection will determine whether the government …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":248562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248563,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248561\/revisions\/248563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}