Pumalag ang Palasyo ng Malakanyang sa batikos ng ilang kritiko na hindi epektibo ang enhanced community quarantine sa Luzon kung kaya pumalo na sa mahigit 1,000 kaso ng COVID-19 ang naitatala sa bansa.
Ayon kay Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo, kaya mababa ang naitalang kaso noon dahil limitado lamang ang testing kits.
“As the manufacture and supply of testing kits become available, plus the establishment of additional COVID-19 testing centers, there are more people being tested now than before, necessarily the hitherto unknown cases of COVID-19 have surfaced hence the galloping increase in number,” pahayag ni Panelo.
Sinabi pa ni Panelo na maaring tumaas pa ang kaso ng COVID-19 sa bansa kung hindi naging maagap ang pamahalaan.
“Had the enhanced community quarantine or partial lockdown not been imposed, the number of the COVID-19 cases could have been staggering, for the simple reason that with unrestricted movement of the population, with each individual being a potential carrier, the coronavirus would have an untrammelled leap-frogging from one person to another,” dagdag ni Panelo.
Tiniyak pa ni Panelo na ginagawa na ng pamahalan ang lahat ng pamamaraan para masugpo ang paglaganap ng COVID-19.
Kung dati rati aniya ay kapos ang pamahalaan sa mga gamit, bumunuhos na ngayon ang suplay ng Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), surgical masks, head gears, face shields, goggles, gloves, protective gowns at foot covers.
Sapat na rin aniya ang medical supplies gaya ng alcohol, sabon at iba pang health items dahil sa donasyon mula sa iba’t ibang grupo.
Patunay aniya ito na buhay ang diwa ng bayanihan sa bansa.
“The Bayanihan spirit has caught fire and everyone is chipping in a united front against this unseen deadly enemy,”pahayag ni Panelo.
Pakiusap ng Palasyo sa publiko, manatili muna sa bahay.
“We remind our countrymen to stay at home and to continue strictly observing the protocols on hygiene like the constant washing of the hands as well as consciously practicing the physical and social distancing, which means we should be not less than two meters away from any person we meet in any place we go to when we step out of our homes, and even when we are inside our houses. In that way we prevent the virus from spreading and therefore protecting ourselves, our family members, our neighbors, our friends, and our country in the process,” pahayag ni Panelo.