Dr. Edsel Salvaña, Technical Advisory Group member of the IATF. Photo from doh.gov.ph
CEBU CITY, Philippines – “I am not blaming Cebu.”
This was the response of Dr. Edsel Salvaña to criticisms hurled against him by several local officials in Cebu, particularly Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
In a post on his official Facebook account, Salvaña clarified that he had no intentions “to blame Cebu or point any fingers'”on the spread of the Delta variant which health experts attributed as the factor behind the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, and hospitals being overwhelmed with infected patients.
“I am not blaming Cebu. I think we should all help each other during this pandemic,” said Salvaña.
Salvaña, a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF), recently earned the ire of Garcia over his recently published column that talked about the national government’s anti-COVID task force visit to the province last June.
The governor accused the doctor of putting the blame on Cebu’s swab-upon-arrival as the cause of the Delta transmission reported in Mindanao and other parts of the Visayas.
But Salvaña replied to the allegations by saying the task force had warned Cebu of its “flawed and more relaxed swab policies.”
“That is why we went to Cebu last June, precisely to warn them that testing on arrival is flawed… I have no interest in pointing fingers. The reason we brought up border control was to protect people and slow down the entry of Delta into the country,” explained Salvaña.
In the meantime, the renowned infectious disease expert urged the public to get themselves vaccinated not only to help deescalate the COVID-19 crisis but also on reviving the economy.
“Vaccination is the solution to this problem and we have to concentrate on getting as many people inoculated very soon so very few people will die from COVID. Living with the virus is also the key to reviving the economy and ensuring people do not die from hunger,” he added.
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