Malacañang said the imposition of stricter community lockdowns this month remains unlikely despite the spike in Covid-19 cases.
In an online press briefing on Monday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the government still has enough healthcare facilities to accommodate the additional cases.
“I don’t think it is called for…while there are increasing cases, were are prepared to treat those who will be seriously ill [after being infected with Covid-19],” Roque said.
Even with rising incidents of Covid-19 cases, Roque maintained that the government’s handling of the pandemic is “excellent.”
He noted the government was able to minimize the number of fatalities related to Covid-19 just 12,521, which is significantly lower compared with more developed countries like the United States.
“So we did a very good job given…we really lack health facilities and funding for the health sector,” Roque said.
As of March 8, 2021, the Department of Health (DOH) said only 60 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds and 65 percent of the isolation beds are occupied.
It also noted that only 74 percent of the ward beds and 76 percent available ventilators are also currently be used.
However, he noted this may change by next month if the current trend of cases will continue.
Surge causes
On Monday, another 3,356 people were infected with Covid-19.
This is the fourth day the number of new Covid-19 cases exceeded 3,000, which was linked by some medical experts to the more infectious variants of Covid-19.
For his part, former Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit attributed the surge in infections to the declining public compliance with minimum health standards.
The University of the Philippines-OCTA Research warned that new Covid-19 cases per day could reach as 5,000 to 6,000 by end of March if the current trend of infection will continue.
In such scenario, Roque said the government will likely implement localized lockdowns to minimize possible disruptions in the economy.