Year to public, officials: Refrain from holding events

Eduardo Year

MANILA, Philippines – Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Sunday advised the public and his fellow government officials to refrain from holding community events if they cannot ensure compliance with coronavirus measures.

Year also said it would investigate alleged violations of public health measures in the events held in the city of Agoncillo, Batangas province, and on Bantayan Island in Cebu province, which were attended by Senator Manny Pacquiao and the spokesman President Harry Roque last week.

“We call on the public, including government officials, if they have activities and cannot implement health standards, particularly [physical] distancing, enough, ”Ano, deputy chief of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said in a radio interview.

“Just don’t go ahead because you can’t apologize for not being able to control [the transmission of the virus]”He added.

Fact-finding investigation

Year said an investigative investigation would seek to see if anyone should be held responsible for the violation of health regulations in Pacquiao’s distribution of relief items in Agoncillo on Thursday and at the inauguration of the Bantayan Island airport on Thursday. Friday, where Roque delivered a speech.

Roque said on Saturday that physical distancing was unnecessary when people gathered for an event wore masks and face shields.

On Sunday, Pacquiao said he welcomed any investigation into allegations that public health standards were violated during his aid and the early distribution of Christmas gifts to Batangas residents whose lives were disrupted by the Taal volcano eruption in January and by a series of typhoons in recent weeks. .

“Prior to that, we also distributed relief and financial aid to Bacoor fire victims and flood victims in Rizal province and Marikina,” Pacquiao said in a statement.

“It should be clarified, however, that in all these events, we made a great effort to ensure that the protocols of social distancing and health safety were strictly observed. Marshals were assigned to ensure that all requirements established by the National Task Force [Against] COVID-19 was implemented, ”he said.

“The physical arrangements for all these events were pre-inspected to ensure social distancing and people were screened for masks and face shields,” he said. “If there are some photos and videos that show what appear to be violations of quarantine protocols, I can assure you that these do not reflect the real situation on the ground.”

Year also advised Senators Imee Marcos, Nancy Binay and Sherwin Gatchalian not to rush to lift restrictions on face-to-face classes in schools.

“When we say face-to-face classes, we are talking about millions of students. So we can’t control that. But if we say selected, what would be the criteria when the president himself has prohibited the presence [classes] until the end of December ”, Year said.

“Let’s not rush it,” he said. “The question really here should be if you want to do that, but who will take responsibility? You are excellent at making recommendations, but you will not have any responsibility for it. If people get sick and there is a spike, will it cure them? Are you going to spend for your treatment? “

There were no immediate comments from any of the three senators on Sunday.

Ano said he would discuss with the mayors of Metro Manila before the coronavirus task force meeting on Monday his proposal to extend the general community quarantine until the end of the year and that he had ordered the deployment of more police to enforce the measures. services in shopping malls, public markets and flea markets during the Christmas season.

“We need to take your opinion and recommendation into consideration. Mayors want [general community quarantine] continue until the end of the holiday season because they want to avoid a spike [in coronavirus infections] when people start to go out, have parties, go to sing Christmas carols or participate in other activities, ”Year said.

He said he understood people’s desire to take advantage of the holiday discounts offered by retailers, but insisted that basic health measures must be applied to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

New infections

On Sunday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,076 additional coronavirus infections after nearly three weeks of fewer than 2,000 daily cases. The new infections brought the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 429,864.

The DOH also reported the “massive recovery” of 10,579 patients, including people with mild or no symptoms who had completed 14 days of quarantine, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 398,624. But the death toll rose to 8,373 with the death of 40 more patients.

Deaths and recoveries left the country with 22,867 active cases, of which 82.9 percent were mild, 7.4 percent asymptomatic, 0.34 percent moderate, 3.2 percent severe, and 6 , 1 percent critical.

Quezon City had the highest number of new cases, 137, followed by Laguna (122), Cavite (103), Batangas (96), and Angeles City (79).

—With a report from DJ Yap

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