Last May 2020, Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced that the Philippines is now on the second wave of the outbreak of COVID-19, just 4 days after the extended Enhanced Community Quarantine was lifted.
This announcement caused netizens and celebrities to be alarmed.
Kapuso actress Janine Gutierrez who is also known for her open criticism against the government, sarcastically commented if the Department of Health even tried to stop the first wave, “Did you even stop the first wave though sis.”
Did you even stop the first wave though sis https://t.co/Rx9aFC3S1b
— JANINE (@janinegutierrez) May 20, 2020
Alessandra de Rossi tweeted her shock over the news.
“Huh? Why? Impossible! Choz! Ano man yung pinaglalaban sa ngayon, buhay muna natin at ng mga mahal natin. Stay at home if possible. 🙏🏻”
https://twitter.com/msderossi/status/1263006647170916354?s=20
ABS-CBN News Reporter Jeff Canoy also questioned if the first wave that we’ve experienced even ended,
“The first wave ended?”
The first wave ended? https://t.co/HX04tHW2SC
— Jeff Canoy (@jeffcanoy) May 20, 2020
Health Secretary Duque announced that the Philippines is now on its second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. “Actually, nasa second wave tayo,” Duque told senators in a hybrid hearing.
He also clarified that the first batch of infections detected in the country, specifically all the patients from Wuhan City, China, where the coronavirus pandemic began is when the first wave started.
“‘Yung first wave natin nag-umpisa, happened some time in January noong nagkaroon tayo ng three Chinese nationals from Wuhan,” he said.
Even Dr. John Wong of Epimetrics Inc. also said that the Philippines was already on the second wave of the outbreak of COVID-19.
Dr. Wong, who is also a member of the sub-technical working group on data analytics of the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19, explained that the second wave began in the first week of March.
A day after getting massive criticisms, Duque conceded that the Philippines is still in its first major wave but insisted that the country had already “flattened the curve” in terms of COVID-19 cases.
