Gov’t urges public to comply with ECQ, practice social distancing to help save lives

April 19, 2020

With close to 6,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country of which 766 are health workers, the government has reiterated calls for the public to stay home and comply with the social distancing guidelines of the Enhanced Community Quarantine.

In his regular daily briefing on Saturday, Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles cited data from the Department of Health (DOH) that show that "a total of 766 healthcare workers in the country are confirmed to have COVID-19: 339 doctors and 242 nurses."

Nograles reported that of these cases, twenty-two Philippine health workers have succumbed to the disease.

"This is just another somber reminder for all of us to do our part to contain this outbreak," said the Palace official.

"Hindi lang po mga numero ito. They represent real people––people who have families, loved ones, friends. Each loss cannot be quantified; they hurt us all. Masakit po ito para sa ating lahat," said Nograles.

The former lawmaker urged the public to step up and do its share to contain the outbreak and curb the number of infections in the country.

"We are not powerless against this disease; we can do something about it. We –– ikaw, ako, tayo –– we can prevent the painful losses among our health workers and our kababayan," stressed the cabinet official. DMS