Health Chief Duque backs extended MECQ in NCR Plus bubble
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) Health Secretary Francisco Duque III believes the modified enhanced community quarantine status over Metro Manila and nearby provinces should be retained until May, his office confirmed on Monday.
He said in a television interview that the lockdown should not be relaxed for one or two more weeks to help ease the burden on healthcare capacity
Health Department spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said Duque and the entire DOH support the extension of the MECQ over Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan when it expires on April 30.
Belmonte favors eased restrictions in May, but experts want tight quarantine protocols to stay longer cnnphilippines.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnnphilippines.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) There is a need to extend the modified enhanced community quarantine in NCR Plus which is set to end on April 30 if the reproduction number or R0 does not stay below 1 in a sustained manner, OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco said Friday. We urge the national government.not to exit [from] the MECQ until the R0 is at least less than .9 in a sustained manner, Austriaco told a webinar.
Austriaco said the reproduction number must be below 1 for at least several weeks to decongest hospitals. He explained this assumption is based on the average number of days a COVID-19 patient is admitted to a hospital, which is 27 days.
Coronavirus stares Philippines in face as hospitals get overwhelmed bworldonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bworldonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
(JANSEN ROMERO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica made the statement after President Duterte ordered PhilHealth to immediately pay the claims of hospitals as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country continued to rise.
In a statement, Belgica renewed ARTA’s commitment to helping Philhealth resolve the backlog of hospital claims as the agency joined the call of President Duterte to speed up the payment of obligations to hospitals.
In a meeting with PhilHealth and the Philippine Hospital Association early this week, Belgica explained how ARTA can assist the state insurer in swiftly settling its reimbursements.