Trade Secretary Says “Secret Parties”, Not Reopening Economy Spiked COVID Cases
SECRET PARTIES – The Philippines was recently hit with a large surge in COVID-19 cases, but reopening of the economy was not to blame says Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
For him, the reason why there was a sudden surge was due to “secret parties” held by people who wanted to meet their friends due to “lockdown fatigue”. He explained that in social situations like this, people lower their guards and fail to follow basic health protocols.
Earlier in the year, the Philippines eased travel restrictions. Following this, cases of “mutations of concern” such as the UK, South African, and Brazilian coronavirus strain were detected in the country. Following this, the Philippines reported its own “homegrown” variant called the P.3 strain.
But, for Lopez, private meetings were to blame for the surge. According to an article from Inquirer, Lopez said:
Maraming nag-reunion, whether sa former classmates mo or kamag-anak mo na hindi kayo nagkikita, maraming secret parties. Marami nang nangyari. So dito ‘yung medyo, of course, bumaba ang compliance rate dahil nagkita-kita, privately,
Furthermore, he emphasized that reopening the economy back in 2020 didn’t lead to a significant spike in the number of daily COVID-19 cases compared to now. Lopez noted that meeting in restaurants is actually better as activity can be monitored.
Kaya mainam pa ‘yung nasa ganyang restaurant, actually. Sa public kasi namomonitor mo. Pero sa private, puwedeng wala na silang mask all throughout. Nagkainan, nag-inuman na. Maraming ‘yang ganyang activities talaga, dumami ‘yan, kaya talagang dumami yung cases ngayon
Last week, the Philippines saw its highest number of daily COVID-19 cases to date with 7,999 new infections. Of that number, 73,072 were tagged as active cases. Unfortunately, 12,968 had already succumbed to the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, due to the surge in cases, key areas such as Metro Manila and nearby provinces were placed back under a General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
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