News Roundup 21 May 2020
May 21, 2020 • 3 min Read
Duque walks back ‘second wave’ remark after garnering criticism | PHILSTAR.COM – Health Secretary Francisco Duque III walked back his earlier remark that the Philippines was experiencing a second wave of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) days after some areas re-opened the economy and workers trooped back to work. Speaking at a hearing held by the House committee on health, Duque conceded after his earlier pronouncements drew massive criticism. At an online Senate hearing on Wednesday, Duque said that the feared second wave had been in the country since March, which was when the enhanced community quarantine was first implemented. A litany of public officials—from Senate lawmakers to fellow Cabinet secretaries—rejected Duque’s earlier statement, pointing to the lack of mass testing. “Can you please explain to us, how can we say that we have already flattened the curve when we have not tested enough? Until we test enough, isolate enough and treat enough, this virus will continue to spread,” Sen. Francis Pangilinan asked Duque in Filipino during the same hearing on the government’s COVID-19 response. He also insisted that the country had already “flattened the curve” in terms of COVID-19 cases. “Can you please explain to us, how can we say that we have already flattened the curve when we have not tested enough? Until we test enough, isolate enough and treat enough, this virus will continue to spread,” Sen. Francis Pangilinan asked Duque in Filipino during the same hearing on the government’s COVID-19 response.
Gov’t still far from reaching COVID-19 tests target — Robredo | Manila Bulletin – With the increasing number of confirmed coronavirus cases, Vice President Leni Robredo called on the administration to fast-track and increase COVID-19 testing nationwide to contain the outbreak more effectively. Speaking on her weekly radio show, Robredo noted the government has yet to reach its target testing capacity of 30,000 per day since the start of the outbreak in the country. “Noong huli tayong nag-usap, parang nasa 8,000 pa lang. Ngayon, iyong pinakahuling balita nasa 14,500 pa lang tayo a day. Sobrang layo pa nito sa target, so kailangan mas bilisan pa (The last time we talked, we were at 8,000 only. Now, the last news is we are at 14,500 a day. We are still far from the target, so we have to hasten the tests),” she said.
Angel Locsin, Bea Alonzo, Anne Curtis raise funds for mass testing | The Manila Times – Top actresses Angel Locsin, Bea Alonzo and Anne Curtis have joined forces to raise funds for the purchase of Covid-19 test kits to further mass testing in poorer sectors of the country. To this end, the trio of ABS-CBN leading ladies revived their “Show & Share” initiative after 11 years. In 2009 they requested fellow celebrities to donate personal items for auction, and turned over the money raised to victims of Super Typhoon Ondoy through the Philippine Red Cross. This week via Instagram, Locsin, Alonzo and Curtis called on their friends anew and posted, “We would like to revisit the idea of artists coming together and helping those who need it the most. This time, with the funds we raise, we would like to purchase test kits and allow testing opportunities for the poorer sectors in the hopes of helping out in the efforts to provide mass testing in the country.”
Drilon flags ‘overpriced’ PhilHealth virus testing | INQUIRER.NET – Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) may have “overpriced” by P8.3 billion the cost of testing people for the new coronavirus, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Wednesday. Drilon raised his concern after Sen. Panfilo Lacson claimed during the online hearing of the Senate committee of the whole the day before that the Department of Health (DOH) bought medical equipment twice as expensive as those purchased by private groups. ‘Criminal act’“ I will tell the PhilHealth straight: This is a criminal act,” Drilon said, pointing out that the P16 billion that the state health insurer would spend for its coronavirus testing program should be reduced by half.
