As part of efforts to step up the implementation of measures crafted to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, the government on Wednesday presented the broad strokes of the National Action Plan (NAP) to eliminate Covid-19, with Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles stressing the need for the public to work with and support authorities in order to win the war against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In a press briefing, Nograles quoted the contents of Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 15 and said that “the proposed National Action Plan to Eliminate COVID-19 as presented is provisionally approved.”
“This is a time that calls for kindness, for compassion, for generosity, and for unity.”
The specifics of the NAP, according to Nograles, include the adoption of measures “that will provide clear, accurate and timely information to support the operations against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“These measures will include creating a system or platform for regular reporting and updating on COVID-19 related news in the country, giving regular press releases and other measures to provide information to the public,” said the Palace official.
They also include the adoption of measures to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus in order to reduce the spread of new cases, as well as the detection, identification, and isolation of COVID-19 carriers.
The NAP also seeks to sustain the conduct of operations against the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of human resource, logistics, and finance and “to mitigate the consequences and impact in terms of human resource, logistics, and finance.”
Nograles explained that the plan also institutes a new organizational structure “to streamline and decentralize the operations in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The IATF will serve as the policy-making body of the operations, while National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 shall serve as the operational command to be headed by the Secretary of National Defense.”
“This is a war that will be fought on many fronts, and your cooperation and support are crucial in our efforts to beat COVID-19.”
Under this setup, “the National Incident Command (NIC) will take charge of the day to day concerns and operations in the fight against COVID-19.”
“Mga kababayan, this is a war that will be fought on many fronts, and your cooperation and support are crucial in our efforts to beat COVID-19 and to save lives,” stressed the former lawmaker from Davao.
“Whatever our disagreements, whatever our misunderstandings, what is not debatable is this: the enemy is COVID-19 ––and we have a greater chance of defeating the enemy if we work together and lift each other up rather than pull each other down,” added Nograles.
“This is a time that calls for kindness, for compassion, for generosity, and for unity. Tandaan po natin ang sabi ni Pangulong Duterte: kung magkanya-kanya po tayo, di tayo magtatagumpay; together, we can beat COVID-19; together, we heal as one.”