Health Secretary Francisco Duque III admitted Wednesday that 2020 is the “most difficult year” for the Department of Health that made everyone cry due to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“2020 is the most difficult year in the history of the department, pero wala akong sama ng loob kasi buong mundo was brought down to its knees, even the most powerful nation, pinaiyak ng COVID-19. Umiyak lahat rito dahil sa sobrang takot, sobrang pag-aalangan,” Duque said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
“Nariyan rin iyong global supply chain limitation. Hindi rin nating puwede madaliin dahil hindi naman kayang gawin agad ng manufacturers iyong mga PPE (personal protective equipment), testing kits, nagkaproblema tayo. Hindi madali ang hamon,” Duque added.
As of December 23, the Department of Health has recorded 1,196 additional cases of COVID-19. Meanwhile, there were 564 recoveries and 27 died of the disease.
Of the total number of cases recorded in the country, 5.4% (24,984) were active cases, 92.7% (429,972) were cured, and 1.95% (9,048) died.
The Philippines holds the longest community quarantine period in the world (since March 15). The lockdowns shut down businesses and paralyzed the public transport system.
The government said the best-case scenario that the Philippines could get vaccine access is by March or April 2021. The country eyes COVID-19 vaccine supplies from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Singapore.
According to Duque, there are now 11,000 temporary treatment and monitoring facilities equipped with 170,000 beds, 191 testing laboratories (testing capacity 34,000 to 35,000 individuals per day). There are also COVID-19 beds at 23,000 and the government eyes to get 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from various drugmakers by 2021.
Duque: 2020 most difficult year for DOH
“Patuloy natin pinauunlad ang ating kapasidad sa prevention and solutions,” Duque said.
However, Duque said a COVID-19 surge is still possible during the holiday season despite a downward trend in the past few months.
“We have reached a point where there is na plateau na natin siya in the sense that our health system capacity has not been overwhelmed. More than the flattening of the curve, continuous iyong downward trend natin until lang noong December na nagkaroon ng surge sa eight to nine cities in National Capital Region which registered higher attack rate and two week growth,” Duque said.
“Luckily, our health systems capacity is still in safe zone or low risk. And based on our indicators, we should be able to curb these cases with observance of minimum health standards of wearing face mask, face shield and observing physical distancing. We are not defenseless,” Duque added.