The National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 has identified economic zones and densely populated areas as the most likely “hot spots” for infections because of poor compliance to quarantine measures in the said areas.
At the launch of the One Hospital Command (OHC) Center in Makati on Thursday, Chief Implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 Retired Gen. Carlito Galvez revealed they have uncovered “grave violations” in economic hubs.
“We saw that there are grave violations in terms of observing minimum health standards like establishing canteens, or having smoking areas, that became the source of contamination,” Galvez pointed out.
He added that ecozone workers may have been also exposed to the infection while availing of shuttle services provided by their respective companies.
The NTF head also said there were more cases of infections in “densely populated areas especially in poor communities.”
He noted people living in the said communities are unable to observe social distancing since they live in small and cramped homes.
These issues, Galvez said, are more pronounced in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal, which were recently placed under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) last week.
The implementation of MECQ aims to allow overworked frontline medical workers in the said areas to rest and give time for the government to intensify its testing, tracing, isolation, and treatment activities for Covid-19 patients.
Galvez said they are now coordinating with local government units to ensure people will comply with basic health standards to minimize their chances of being infected.
“That is why…80 percent of our effort right now is more on prevention by changing mindset and behavior of our citizens who need it as well as health promotion and disease prevention,” Galvez said.