An official of the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday expressed confidence that the government can reduce Covid cases in Metro Manila and nearby provinces after the 14-day modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
“We have looked at the data and although the cases are rising, we are confident they can be contained effectively and efficiently during this two-week period of MECQ or during this ‘timeout’,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media forum.
Vergeire said to “maximize” the timeout they will use it to “relieve the pressure on healthcare workers, effectively crush clusters of infection and strategically win the Covid-19 game.”
During the forum, Vergeire also presented the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic or CODE.
CODE is a 14-day protocol anchored on strong ownership and leadership by local leaders and community members, proactive behavior change campaign, provision of masks, active case finding through house to house symptoms checking, early isolation of close contacts and coordinated referral to facilities.
RT-PCR
Vergeire also stressed that the use of the rapid antibody tests to detect Covid-19 will also be stopped. Instead, the RT-PCR swab test would be the sole method for testing.
Earlier, the DOH said that they have previously warned the public against the danger of overconfidence in rapid tests reiterating that RT-PCR testing remains to be the gold standard for diagnosing Covid-19.
Doctors on Tuesday have reiterated their appeal to the government to halt the use of rapid antibody test kits for Covid-19 for workers returning to work or in other settings.
Dr. Antonio Dans, spokesperson of The Healthcare Professions Alliance Against Covid-19 also warned that if half of the population, in the workplace for example, with Covid-19 were undetected, they become carriers.
For her part, Dr. Aileen Espina of Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians echoed Dans saying that the test will give “a false level of security”.
However, she said they are glad that Covid-19 testing czar Vivencio “Vince” Dizon has agreed to discuss further with them the matter.
The DOH said that they have been continuously reminding the public that rapid antibody testing should not be used as a standalone test to definitively diagnose or rule out Covid-19 as stipulated in the Department Memorandum 2020-0258.
LGUS urged to act proactively
Meanwhile, in the same forum, former Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit urged the cities and municipalities to get the data of new cases as “quickly as possible within a day or two.”
“The cities and municipalities to focus on preventing the clusters from occurring there,” Dayrit said.
He also urged the government to do the fundamental things : trace, contact tracing, and isolation.
“To defeat the virus, we have to rise above defeating ourselves, prevent exponential spread, build capacities with optimum balance, and solve PhilHealth [Philippine Health Insurance Corporation] financing issues,” Dayrit said.