Palace refutes Duque on 2nd wave; DOH backtracks

MANILA, Philippines — Rebuffed by Malacañang, the Department of Health (DOH) has apologized and backtracked on a declaration made by its chief on Wednesday that the country is in the second wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contagion.

“DOH confirms that we are in the first wave of pandemic driven by local community transmission which started when we recorded cases among fellow Filipinos who are without exposure to positive cases of travel history,” DOH’s Health Promotion and Communication Service director Beverly Ho said at a virtual briefing yesterday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told senators on Wednesday that the country is in the second wave of COVID-19 infection and should brace for the third wave if quarantine restrictions are relaxed.

“We are still in the first wave. In fact, this started in February when there were first few cases that ballooned in March. The figures continue to increase until now in May,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said in Filipino at a virtual press briefing.

“We apologize (that) it has caused an alarm.  But the truth is, in science, the interpretation of waves is important in the determination of response. Whether it be a wavelet or a first wave, what is important is we are able to prevent the second wave wherein more people would be getting sick,” Roque said.

“Why are there some people in the government who claim that we are already in the second wave? You know, in medicine just like law, there is just one law, but there are different interpretations. The same applies to medicine,” he said.

Duque’s gaffe sparked widespread criticism, prompting the DOH to apologize for the anxiety and confusion that followed.

Ho said the DOH is hopeful that the confusion did not distract officials and concerned sectors from the task of stopping the pandemic.

“We are still in this wave,” Ho said, noting that the first wave peaked last March 31 when 538 COVID cases were recorded in a span of 24 hours.

According to Ho, daily average of new COVID cases has dropped since then to 220.

“This is the reason why we are saying that we have started to flatten the curve,” Ho said.

Former health chief Esperanza Cabral also agreed that the country is still in the first wave of pandemic and the government should prepare for the next wave. But what’s more important than being able to determine which phase of the contagion the country is in now is the assurance from the government that it is prepared to tackle the pandemic, she said.

“This hair splitting when it comes to whether we are in the first or second wave only serves to confuse the public and take our attention away from the job at hand, which is to make sure we are prepared for the expected next wave,” she said.

213 new cases

As of yesterday, the number of confirmed COVID cases nationwide was 13,434 with the addition of 213 new cases. Of the new cases, 46 percent or 98 came from the National Capital Region and another 98 cases came from Central Visayas.

Sixty-eight new recoveries brought to 3,000 the number of patients who recovered from the infection.  COVID-related fatalities went up to 846, which included four new deaths.

Ho said the number of recoveries is relatively low because it does not include those who have not undergone repeated tests and those not admitted in hospitals.  

Also expressing bewilderment at Duque’s claim was Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

“I do not know why he said the Philippines is already in a second wave when before that he never mentioned it in our meeting with Cabinet members in the task force and even before and during the meeting with President Duterte last Tuesday,” Medialdea told The STAR.

Roque said that while he and Duque may have differences in opinion, they share the same passion for seeking an end to the crisis. “We are in the process of flattening the curve,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Duque should resign for making a misleading pronouncement. “If he will not resign, he at least should pray,” Drilon said over radio dzRH yesterday.

“I do not know what is the point of it,” he said, referring to Duque’s claim. “It serves no purpose except to heighten the tension. It is not true. There are really a lot of lapses.”

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said he was “very alarmed” by Duque’s statement. “The secretary should get his facts right and his messaging straight as wrong information can put to a bad light all the efforts being done by the IATF (Inter Agency Task Force) and possibly sow confusion with the public,” Zubiri said.

“It is meant to draw away attention from the still below-target daily rate for testing,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes, referring to Duque’s controversial claim.

“We are still far from 30,000 tests daily. The backlog for validating positive tests results also grows by the day, thus data reported does not show us the complete and accurate picture of the transmission.” Cecille Suerte-Felipe, Edith Regalado, Rhodina Villanueva, Artemio Dumlao