Acting provincial health officer Dra. Faye Erika Labrador denied speculations that the recently held plebiscite in the province is connected to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the province.
In the radio program, Pag-asa at Pagbabago of the Provincial Information Office (PIO) last Monday, Labrador said the surge started one month after the plebiscite which was conducted on March 13.
Labrador clarified reaction to former National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) adviser Dr. Tony Leachon’s statement last week linking the holding of the plebiscite with the surge of cases in several towns.
“Kasi tayo ay mayroong tinatawag na Morbidity Week. Ang plebisito ay nangyari noong March 13 which is Morbidity Week 11. So ngayon ay nasa Morbidity Week 21 tayo. Nagkaroon tayo ng surge o nagsimulang tumaas ‘yong kaso na nagsimula sa Brooke’s Point at Coron noong Morbidity Week 15. So lagpas na ng isang buwan,” Labrador said.
“Kaya kung ang plebisito ang sinisisi sa pagkakaroon natin ng surge dapat ay Morbidity Week 12 or 13 ay umarangkada na ang kaso natin,” she added.
Based on their data, cases in different towns started during morbidity week 18.
“Nagkaroon ng pag-double ng kaso sa Brooke’s Point ay Morbidity Week 18 na. So basically, hindi natin pwede i-associate ang plebisito sa nangyaring surge na nararanasan,” she said adding that the main cause of the spread of the virus is because of not following all public health standards and protocols.
On Thursday, COMELEC spokesperson James Jimenez also said in an online forum that there was no reasonable link between the plebiscite and the increase of COVID-19.
“We are tracking it, but remember the elections (plebiscite) were on March 13. If you go by the standard 14 days, we are trying to find the connection, 14 days from March 13, parang malayo naman na,” he said.
