WHO urges Philippines to make sure health system won’t be overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases

August 18, 2020

As Metro Manila and four provinces return to the easier general community quarantine on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) Tuesday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to continue boost the capacity of its healthcare system to handle coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.


In a virtual press conference, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office Director Takeshi Kasai said this is vital for the Philippine government as the pandemic has shown no signs of slowing down.


"I think how much Philippines cases account for in the Western Pacific is not important. But what is important is that if these numbers would go into the direction to overwhelm the healthcare facilities," said Kasai.


"So far, we haven't really seen that the number has overwhelmed their healthcare facilities... I think it is very important for the government to continue to improve this capacity," he said.


Kasai  mentioned continued improvement of contact tracing activities since the start of the pandemic.


"I'm sure these prevented a significant number of infections and, hence, the number of people dying for COVID-19, and it prevented the healthcare facilities to be overwhelmed," he noted.


Kasai said what people do is also an integral part in the success of the fight versus COVID-19.


"It is very important for the government to continue to communicate with the people, encourage them to maintain their healthy behavior. It is very important for everybody to voluntarily do very similar things so that we can continue to suppress that level and not to overwhelm the healthcare facility in this country," said Kasai.


Through this, Kasai he said the country can afford to prevent disruptions caused by community lockdowns.


"I've been observing this virus and these interventions making a significant economic impact and it affects the people's lives, particularly those in poor settings, families and individuals. And I've heard that people are saying that 'that we need to go out for work'. I totally understand that," said Kasai. DMS