“The outbreak… constitutes an emergency that threatens national security, which requires a whole-of-government approach.” President Rodrigo Duterte put that in a proclamation released early on Monday, March 9, 2020, declaring a health emergency in the Philippines.
The worry was that the virus was already spreading unnoticed in Manila and nearby suburbs. On the Saturday before, the Health Ministry had raised its alert to “code red sub level 1”, the second-highest, after confirming local transmission. Hours later it disclosed four more patients in Manila hospitals, bringing the confirmed total to 10.
What the declaration does
The emergency frees up funds for local governments preparing for a large outbreak. It also loosens procurement rules for testing kits, masks, protective gear and other supplies health workers may need.
Supplies were thin. The government had only 4,500 testing kits, expected 2,000 more from the World Health Organization, and was considering offers from China and South Korea. Health Secretary Francisco Duque said politicians’ sense that the ministry was not doing enough “is largely because of our limited testing supplies.” More kits would mean wider testing, he said.
Local measures
Local governments were not waiting. Three cities and two towns suspended classes that week so classrooms could be disinfected. One town handed out face masks, disinfectants and vitamins near the home of a 62-year-old Filipino who had tested positive, and his city’s mayor ordered the Muslim prayer hall he frequented shut. Shopping malls began disinfecting too.
The 62-year-old was the country’s first case of community transmission, and his 59-year-old wife was also infected. Neither had been abroad recently. Among the earlier patients was a Chinese national from Wuhan who died in the Philippines, the first death from the outbreak reported outside China. Two Chinese patients had recovered.
Lockdown on hold
Duque said a higher alert, “code red sub level 2”, would allow entire communities to be quarantined or locked down, with schools and work suspended. That could happen at the municipal, city or provincial level, with police and soldiers helping. He called it “premature” for now. “We have to wait for evidence of sustained community transmission,” he said.
“Moving from localised transmission to sustained community transmission can happen very quickly,” Duque added.
