Duterte to lift lockdown once there’s treatment for COVID-19; orders use of rapid test sans FDA approval

April 14, 2020

President Rodrigo Duterte said he would lift the lockdown, particularly in Luzon, including Metro Manila, once there is already treatment for the coronavirus disease.

Duterte made the statement as he shared during his taped televised public message on Monday night about certain "pharmaceutical giants" that were able to make antibody to fight COVID-19.

"The antibody did not come from the person...there's a medicine already, antibody of giant pharmaceuticals," he said, noting that the said company would start to market the product.

"But the problem is, we are on the last ladder. The wealthy (countries) can avail first," he said.

Duterte did not give further details how he got the information.

He said if there is really such a treatment, then he would lift the lockdown.

"I placed a condition there that if the antibody is available already in the market here and they are being sold in quantity - in numbers - then I am inclined to may be, at that time, lift the lockdown," he said.

Duterte has declared a Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine from March 17 to April 30.

According to Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said with the lockdown, the government has been seeing a slowdown in the number of COVID-19 infections.

"Right now, we are going down in the case doubling time in three days. So it means, there's a slowdown in the case doubling time of COVID-19 here in the Philippines. And that is more accurate now than before because we have more tests being conducted now," he said.

"The positivity rate is also slowly decreasing and the percentage of new cases is bending downwards. So that is the general findings of the experts regarding to what is happening in the Philippines," Nograles added.

Duterte also ordered the use of rapid tests for COVID-19 even there is no approval yet from the Food and Drug Administration.

"Unfortunately until now, they are still debating on the efficacy of the rapid tests we would like to buy. There is no FDA ruling yet because they cannot act on it without the assessment something - health assessment of the entire - maybe the entire country before they would act on it," he said.

But he cited the assessment made by a section in the Department of Health on the rapid tests.

"It's been there and nobody seems, would like to act on it with a - well, in jiffy," he said.

But despite a rule which provides that the government could not use its fund to purchase products without FDA approval yet, Duterte said he still wants to purchase them.

"I will take the risk. I will order the Health department and everybody. In the meantime, the private sector is doing it. Maybe we can take over someday or do it altogether with your help. I am clearing the way by ordering the purchase," he said.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, said that despite the possible use of rapid testing kits, still the main COVID-19 tests would be conducted using the FDA-approved and more accurate Polymerase Chain Reaction tests.

He said if a person undergoes testing using the rapid test kits and it turns negative, still the individual needs to complete the 14-day quarantine period.

He said the rapid test kits are much cheaper and the results could come out faster than the PCR tests.

The government is targeting to increase COVID-19 tests up to 10,000 per day. Celerina Monte/DMS