{"id":251868,"date":"2020-04-12T05:01:25","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T09:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=251868"},"modified":"2020-04-12T05:01:25","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T09:01:25","slug":"govt-not-suppressing-coronavirus-death-count-iatf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/04\/12\/govt-not-suppressing-coronavirus-death-count-iatf\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov\u2019t not suppressing coronavirus death count: IATF"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
In a virtual presser on Sunday, Cabinet Secretary and IATF Spokesperson Karlo Nograles made this remark following reports that a hospital in Metro Manila was instructed to stop counting Covid-19 deaths. (File photo<\/a>: PTV\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Sunday denied that the government is suppressing information regarding 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) fatalities.<\/p>\n

In a virtual presser on Sunday, Cabinet Secretary and IATF Spokesperson Karlo Nograles made this remark following reports that a hospital in Metro Manila was instructed to stop counting Covid-19 deaths.<\/p>\n

Citing the Department of Health (DOH), Nograles said the department has already clarified that it has never issued any order to stop the census of Covid-19 fatalities to any health facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi po tayo nag-uutos ng<\/em>\u00a0concealment.\u00a0Bawal po \u2018yan<\/em>\u00a0(There is no order to conceal Covid-19 fatalities. That is illegal),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He emphasized that various government functionaries regularly appear in the media to give updates on the different actions being taken in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize that it is our responsibility to give you the facts, all the facts, and nothing but the facts. You deserve nothing less,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also warned against sharing fake news or rumors circulating on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur efforts to contain the Covid-19 outbreak must be complemented by our efforts to contain misinformation and disinformation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Under the \u201cBayanihan To Heal As One Act\u201d or Republic Act 11469, fake news peddlers may be penalized with imprisonment of two months or a fine ranging from PHP10,000 to PHP 1 million.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, broadcaster Arnold Clavio, on his official Instagram account, cited an unnamed front-liner claiming that there were several bodies littered the hallway of a certain Metro Manila hospital.<\/p>\n

The DOH is currently investigating the allegation, adding it will provide updates as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

As of Saturday, the DOH reported a total of 4,428 Covid-19 cases, 247 deaths, and 157 recoveries.<\/p>\n

Observe 12-hour rule<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nograles, meanwhile, reminded funeral homes to cremate the remains of Covid-19 fatalities within 12 hours from the time of death as stipulated under the IATF funeral guidelines or protocols.<\/p>\n

He also urged funeral homes to start the process of cremation without waiting for payments.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not wait for payment.\u00a0Kung kailangan i-<\/em>cremate, i-cremate\u00a0na po \u2018yan at wag na natin hintayin kung sino ang magbabayad. Mahahanapan natin ng solusyon \u2018yan<\/em>\u00a0(If there is a need to cremate, cremate them and let\u2019s not wait for someone to pay for the expenses. We will find a solution for payments),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On March 25, Nograles said a PHP25,000 \u201cfuneral support fund\u201d will be given to indigents who died due Covid-19.<\/p>\n

He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be providing the fund to indigents who suffered from Covid-19, whether confirmed, suspect or probable cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DSWD shall allocate amounts for a funeral support fund allotted to the indigent confirmed Covid-19 cases and PUIs regardless whether they are undergoing home quarantine or admitted in a public or private facility. DSWD shall allot PHP25,000 per deceased for this purpose,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Interior Secretary Eduardo A\u00f1o said LGUs should assign funeral service facilities that can cremate the remains within 12 hours from the time of death.<\/p>\n

If the deceased is a Muslim, he said the remains should be placed in an air-tight sealed bag or container and buried in the nearest Muslim cemetery within 12 hours while observing Muslim rites.<\/p>\n

Nograles said LGUs will also be tasked to provide \u201cpossible financial assistance to cover the logistics, fuel, salary, and other expenses that will be incurred in the process\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

He noted that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and LGUs will monitor and penalize funeral homes that refused to provide logistics and transport remains of Covid-19 cases.<\/p>\n

The LGU may release issuances or ordinances to put a price cap or impose a price freeze on funeral services located within their jurisdiction, he said.<\/p>\n

Funeral and interment services are still allowed to remain operational under the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Sunday denied that the government is …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":249892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251868","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\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251869,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251868\/revisions\/251869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}