Highlights of PRRD's address (21 July 2020)

Good evening. Here are the highlights of the Presidential Briefing (21 July 2020):

✏ DEPED UPDATES

• DepEd Sec Briones says lawmakers, local executives, and international schools in the country are requesting to implement blended or limited face-to-face learning.

• DepEd proposal: limited face-to-face classes in low-risk areas depending if the school will meet the minimum requirements for classroom size and public health standards

• 90\\\% of students have enrolled back in public schools but only 27\\\% enrolled in private schools.

• 347,000 students from private schools migrated to enrolling in public schools.

• Only 4.2\\\% of COVID-19 cases in the country are children with 16 recorded deaths

• Conditions:

- Location of school (low-risk areas)

- Physical space has to be amenable: cannot allow small classrooms; standard physical condition of schools; must not be at risk from calamities and other factors

- Following strict minimum health standards

- LGU should be open and supportive: use of SEF

• PRRD concurred with the proposal of DepEd to implement face-to-face schooling in limited contexts.

🛡 DILG UPDATES

• DILG met with LGUs, ULAP, LGU leagues (LCP, LPP, LMP), mayors, and governors under GCQ.

• LGUs will submit proposals to implement unified guidelines on managing locally-stranded individuals, imposition of localized lockdowns, and penalty for those who violate quarantine protocols.

• Coordination and operation teams of experts from DILG will go to the areas and help mayors in imposing localized lockdowns and referral of positive patients to quarantine facilities.

🚑 DOH UPDATES

• DOH Sec Duque commended the best practices of Baguio City in contact tracing, wherein their ratio is 1:37 per positive case and that the first and second-generation contacts were identified and tested.

• The target is to test 10 million Filipinos by 2021 according to the testing czar Vince Dizon.

• Duque recommended that evacuation centers be converted into quarantine facilities.

• Bed capacities for critical cases should be increased.

• One hospital command system to be developed by Usec. Vega.

• NTF Chief Implementer Sec Galvez said that LGUs' implementation of contact tracing and testing is still lacking because they only trace approximately 20 persons per confirmed case while some only test 3 contacts.

• Galvez aims to add four more COVID-19 dedicated hospitals in the NCR.

🇵🇭 PRRD INSIGHTS

• President Duterte instructed the police to be stricter in imposing quarantine protocols and arresting those who do not follow protocols such as wearing face masks.

• The President also stated that the unitary government of the Philippines is favorable to the federal system being implemented in the US and other European countries.