While most of us are still catching our breaths after the recent signing of the Anti-Terror Bill, I’m here to bear some more news.
ICYMI, earlier today, Jul. 3, eleven individuals from different sectors affected by the pandemic (“medical doctors, scientists, the LGBTQIA community, migrant workers, students, teachers, jeepney drivers, frontline workers, professionals and homemakers”) were assisted by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) to file a petition to the Supreme Court to order the government to start doing free mass testing and to “fortify contact tracing efforts and improve laboratory testing capacity.”
Hours after this, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing that he was fairly certain the SC will dismiss the petition. “Ibabasura po iyan ng Korte Suprema, kasi sa mula’t-mula po mayroon po talaga tayong programa na targeted testing.” He added that, “So ginagawa na po iyan at talaga namang hinintay lang natin na magkaroon ng mas maraming labs, hinintay lang natin na makabili ang DBM (Department of Budget and Management) ng 10 million testing kits.”
He also noted who is included under the targeted testing. “Ngayon po, isasama na rin natin ang mga asymptomatic, iyong mga manggagawa, iyong iba pang mga frontliners kagaya ng media, subject naman po to the final guidelines to be issued by the Department of Health and the National Task Force.”
According to the Department of Health tracker, there have now been a total of 40,336 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Photo by Joan Bondoc courtesy of Inquirer.net
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