Palace and the Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday apologized to the nation for the confusion caused by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s statement on Wednesday that the Philippines was already experiencing the second wave of new coronavirus outbreak.
The apologies came after Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon told a radio interview that inaccurate data from the DOH could lead to wrong decisions in the efforts to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, which causes the severe respiratory disease COVID-19, and erode the people’s confidence in the government.
Drilon raised the warning as he and several senators challenged Duque’s statement on Wednesday that the Philippines was already experiencing the second wave of coronavirus infections. They pointed out that not enough testing had been done to say that the country had significantly reduced the number of new recorded cases of COVID-19 in the country.