Duque Curve Flattened Issue Receives Fresh Set Of Clarifications
DUQUE CURVE FLATTENED ISSUE – Following yet another controversial statement, an aide of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III tried to clarify his statements.
READ: DOH Secretary Duque Says PH Successfully Flattened the Curve Since April
Recently, The Department of Health’s (DOH) chief said the Philippines had “flattened the curve” since April. This, despite the spike in the number of cases and hospitals being over capacity with COVID-19 patients.
READ: Palace Says Hospitals Have Enough Beds Despite Hospitals Warning
Since then, the Health Secretary has retracted his statement with his peers trying desperately to “clarify” what he said. This time, one of his aids emphasized that Duque meant the Philippines was “able to prepare our health system“.
During an interview with ANC, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said:
When we say that we have flattened the curve, we were able to prepare our health system just in case there will be a surge or increase in the number of cases in the country
Along with this, she noted that defining a “flattened” curve was “difficult to interpret and explain” because to her, it doesn’t just mean decreasing COVID-19 cases. Instead, Vergeire explained that it also depends on the capacity of the health care systems and the time it takes for cases to double.
However, several hospitals have already declared that they are in full capacity with no more beds available for COVID-19 patients. But, Vergeire noted that some private hospitals stated they would increase their COVID-19 capacity.
Still, Vergeire’s explanation seemed to be far from Duque’s explanation of his own statement. According to Duque, he meant that the curve just “bent”, not flatten.
Meanwhile, according to an article from ABS-CBN, experts said that it takes about 8 days for COVID-19 cases to double. What’s more concerning is that this period would likely shorten soon.
