News Roundup 27 May 2020
May 27, 2020 • 3 min Read
UST study: ‘Rigorous testing, tracking’ can curb rise in COVID-19 cases under GCQ | PHILSTAR.COM – Researchers in the University of Santo Tomas project an “increase [in] the forecasted number of infected cases and deaths in Metro Manila” under a General Community Quarantine. According to the UST CoV-2 Model developed by Associate Professor Bernhard Egwolf and Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., however, “these increases are not inevitable” and “can be offset with a rigorous tracking, testing, and tracing program that seeks to limit community spread by breaking chains of viral transmission.” Egwolf has a doctorate in Physics from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich while Austriaco has Ph.D. degree in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The UST researchers said that this stage of the pandemic needs a “testing capacity of 15,000 tests per day and 1,800 contact tracers” in Metro Manila. They added that the “geographic distribution of this testing and contact tracing capacity should correspond to the severity of the local pandemics in each of the cities of Metro Manila.”
France halts hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus treatment | INQUIRER.NET – The French government on Wednesday banned treatment of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, a controversial and potentially harmful drug that US President Donald Trump has said he is taking preventively. The move came after two French advisory bodies and the World Health Organization warned this week that the drug — a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus — had been shown to be potentially dangerous in several studies.
DOH asks LGUs for help to hire 95-K more contact tracers | Manila Bulletin – The Department of Health (DOH) said it is looking for at least 95,000 more contact tracers amid the country’s fight against COVID-19. “Ito pong 95,000 na sinasabi… amin pong hihingin ang tulong ng ating mga local government units (LGUs) para makahanap po tayo nitong ating mga contact tracers na ito (The 95,000 that was mentioned, we are asking the help of our local government units to look for contact tracers],” Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire said. The country currently has 38,000 contact tracers. Based on the set standard, there should be one contact tracer per 800 people in the population. The Health official said they have given proposals to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) regarding the qualifications of applicants “when they hire.”
Metro mayors want NCR under general quarantine | Malaya Business Insight – The 17 mayors of Metro Manila on Tuesday agreed to put the National Capital Region (NCR) under general community quarantine (GCQ) once the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status ends on May 31. The Metro Manila Council (MMC) met a day before the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is scheduled to decide on the various quarantine levels imposed in different provinces and cities. Jojo Garcia, MMDA general manager and MMC spokesman, said: “All the mayors of Metro Manila want to shift the quarantine status from modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to GCQ. This is our stand and this will be our recommendation to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Emerging Infectious Diseases.”
