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'Baka mag-riot': Health expert says suggestion to lockdown NCR 'extreme'

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Rose Carmelle Lacuata, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - A health expert believes the suggestion to lock down Metro Manila to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a bit &quot;extreme.&quot;Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvana of the University of the Philippines Manila told dzMM that a lock down similar to what China did in Wuhan and other cities was only possible because of the nature of its government.&quot;Sa tingin ko po baka medyo extreme po &#x27;yun kasi, ang problema kasi, sa China, kapag ginawa nila lockdown, eh alam naman natin, communist-socialist &#x27;yun, kaya nilang gawin &#x27;yun,&quot; he explained.(I think it may be a bit extreme. The problem is, in China, if they implement a lockdown, they can do it because they are communist-socialist.)&quot;Dito sa Pilipinas, medyo baka mag-riot ang mga tao,&quot; Salvaña added.(Here in the Philippines, it may cause a riot.)Salvana said the government doesn&#x27;t need extreme measures as it can implement other policies to help stem the spread of COVID-19.&quot;Hindi naman kailangang ganoon ka-extreme. May magagawa tayo na maaaring maka-decrease noong level, &#x27;yung level of transmission. Hindi naman kailangan na kapareho ng ginawa ng China,&quot; he explained.(We don&#x27;t need to do something that extreme. There are other things we can do to decrease the level of transmission. We don&#x27;t need to follow what they did in China.)Practicing social distancing, or keeping a distance of at least 3 feet or a meter from other people, may help curb the transmission of the disease, Salvana said.He added that measures such as class suspensions and work-from-home arrangements may also help.Salvana, likewise, advised the elderly to avoid going out in public as COVID-19 is more dangerous for them.&quot;Yung panukala is really pag-iisipan &#x27;yung mga tinatawag na social distancing na hindi masyadong nagkukumpol-kumpol ang mga tao, tapos &#x27;yun nga, limitahan, lalo na doon mga matatanda above 60 years old, kasi alam naman natin na sila &#x27;yung maaring mamatay, 10 percent sa kanila maaring mamatay, kaya siguro, lalo na &#x27;yung elderly, huwag munang lumabas,&quot; he said.(The proposal is to really think about social distancing, when people do not stick close together in groups. Especially those above 60 years old, because we know they are the ones who are at risk of dying, 10 percent of them may die from the disease, so the elderly, it&#x27;s better if they don&#x27;t go out.)The Philippines currently has 20 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of this number, four are confirmed cases of local transmission.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/09/20/philippines-covid19-coronavirus-cases-patients">LIST: Philippines’ COVID-19 cases</a></li></ul>Rep. Joey Salceda earlier said a lockdown of Metro Manila may be considered to help the government contain COVID-19.&quot;Kung talagang lumala po, kung magkaroon ng community transmission dito, I think. NCR is where all the virus eh,&quot; he told ANC.&quot;A lockdown of NCR should not be off the book,&quot; Salceda added.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_da3UARNiyU?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

MANILA - A health expert believes the suggestion to lock down Metro Manila to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a bit "extreme."

MANILA - A health expert believes the suggestion to lock down Metro Manila to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a bit "extreme."

'Baka mag-riot': Health expert says suggestion to lockdown NCR 'extreme'

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'Baka mag-riot': Health expert says suggestion to lockdown NCR 'extreme'

Rose Carmelle Lacuata,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 09, 2020 10:27 PM PHT

|

Updated Mar 10, 2020 08:37 AM PHT

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DZMM

lockdown

COVID-19

coronavirus

Edsel Salvaña

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