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| Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. addresses the media during the arrival of 698,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine at NAIA Terminal 3 on Oct. 22, 2021. (Photo from NTF Against COVID-19) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] The country was able to withstand the devastation of the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and eventually defeat it by implementing adjusted safety protocols, a task force official leading the pandemic response announced Friday, Oct. 22. “We made some drastic decisions of really locking down early so we can have a preparation for the coming of the Delta. Now, we have seen that) we were able to defeat Delta,” said Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr., vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, Manila Bulletin reported.
Galvez issued the remark during the arrival of 698,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine which were procured by the private sector under the “Dose of Hope” program. The jabs arrived around 9:35 a.m. at Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). From as high as 20,000 cases per day in August, a period when the effects of Delta were first felt, the daily number of new cases has since gone down to around 4,000 this week.
There has also been a negative growth rate of infections in all cities and lone municipalities in Metro Manila this week, according to the OCTA research group. To contain the rapid spread of the virus, the government piloted the implementation of the “Alert Level” system in Metro Manila to replace the community quarantine status.
