Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic was "excellent," Malacanang said Monday, as the one-year anniversary of the first lockdown neared.
The Philippines was able to control the spread of COVID-19, better than other countries, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said as authorities warned of a surge in infections in its early stages.
"We were excellent. Na-control po natin ang pagkalat ng sakit lalung-lalo na kung ikukumpara tayo sa mas mayayaman at mga bansa na mas mararami at mas moderno ang mga ospital," Roque told reporters.
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The Philippines enforced one of the world's longest lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus. Nearly a year since the first lockdown, the country remains under varying levels of community quarantine as total cases near 600,000.
The economy sank into a recession, the worst since World War II as people were forced to stay at home. President Rodrigo Duterte had said last month that the country was losing P2 billion daily due to COVID-19.
While he admitted that healthcare facilities in the country are limited, Roque said the government has been managing the crisis well.
"I think I will maintain that it has been excellent management. We regret that people died but this is a pandemic and we all know now how to prevent these deaths because we know who are particularly vulnerable ‘no to COVID-19 - the seniors, kaya nga ginawa natin sila ang mga homeliners kasama na iyong mga with co-morbidities ‘no," Roque said.
It was only last week that the country rolled out its mass immunization program using China's Sinovac jabs, with other vaccines expected to arrive soon.
The Philippines aims to immunize at least 70 million people this year to boost economic recovery.
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