Wear anti-virus masks, keep distance even at home: doctor

A pulmonologist on Tuesday urged the public to wear face masks and practice physical distancing, even inside their homes.

Doctors have observed that several members of a family are often infected with COVID-19, said Dr. Maricar Limpin, vice president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP).

“‘Pag po nasa labas tayo — actually kahit nga ho sa bahay — dapat nakamaskara palagi ho tayo at makakadagdag po ng proteksyon pati iyong face shield saka ma-maintain po natin iyong physical distance,” she told ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo..

(When we’re outside, actually even when we’re at home, we should wear a mask always and this will add protection along with a face shield and maintaining physical distance.)

“Kasi kampante tayo andoon lang tayo, kasama lang natin iyong mga mahal natin sa buhay. Hindi natin minsan alam, itong mga kasama natin sa bahay, galing din po sa labas. Maaaring nakuha nila iyong impeksyon sa labas,” she added.

(We are confident that we’re just at home with our loved ones. Sometimes, we don’t know that our house mates ventured out. They could have gotten the infection outside.)

The PCP earlier appealed for Metro Manila’s return to stricter lockdown due to a spike in coronavirus cases.

During the MECQ or modified enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 4 to 18, the government worked with doctors on pandemic plans, including a centralized hospital command.

This will let doctors know which facilities can still accept coronavirus patients, some of whom have to wait for a day before they are admitted to intensive care units, said Limpin.

Metro Manila and surrounding provinces will downgrade to the looser GCQ or general community quarantine on Aug. 19.
 
“Medyo mas comfortable na po kami na ‘pag ganito iyong plano at ma-implement po iyong plano nang maigi ay ma-expect po namin na bababa na iyong mga kaso ng COVID-19,” Limpin said.

(We are slightly more comfortable now that we have plans and if we could implement these well, we expect that COVID-19 cases will go down.)

Watch the doctor’s full interview here.

TeleRadyo, Aug. 18, 2020