MANILA, Philippines — Human rights group Karapatan said Wednesday that the government’s “militarist and punitive” approach in addressing the COVID-19 crisis could worsen the impact of the pandemic. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier claimed that police and military forces leading the house-to-house searches for COVID-19 patients are fake news. Meanwhile, Diño also clarified that he was misquoted on his interview on July 18 explaining that he was not referring to COVID-19 patients. According to Palabay, the Philippine National Police has arrested thousands of quarantine violators from March 17 to July 19 with 3,059 individuals still remaining in jail. For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 22, 2020 09:11 UTC