Be ready in case of COVID surge – solon
SENATE President Vicente Sotto III on Friday pressed the Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to come up with complementary measures to put off a rush of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant.
Sotto said policy-makers and health experts must be ready in the eventuality that a surge of Delta variant cases break out, especially following the DOH announcement that at least 35 cases have already been detected in the country.
“Handa na ba ang ating gobyerno kung sakaling magkaroon ng surge ng COVID-19 cases na dulot ng Delta variant? May mga nakahanda na bang response measures? Handa ba ang ating mga healthcare facilities at workers sa pangyayaring ito? Mahalagang maramdaman ng ating mga kababayan na kumikilos ang kanilang mga lider para siguruhin ang kanilang kaligtasan,” Sotto said.
Sotto suggested the reimposition of stringent movement protocols across all community quarantine classifications against the holding of mass gatherings, which he said could easily become superspreader events.
“Pwede naman pong GCQ (general community quarantine) ang ating classification pero maghigpit tayo sa mga mass gatherings. Aminado po akong mahalagang ituloy natin ang economic recovery ng ating bansa, but it is equally important to make sure that our people are safe from the virus. The public’s good health should be the ultimate target when coming up with response measures,” Sotto said.
The Senate leader likewise backed the recommendation of the 17 mayors of Metro Manila to stop all outdoor activities for children five years and above, and said that suspending the policy would greatly lessen the number of people in public spaces, and thus slow down the transmission of the coronavirus.
“Maraming pwedeng gawin para panatilihin ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan. Let us be pro-active. Huwag na nating ulitin ang ating mga pagkakamali noong naguumpisa pa lamang ang pandemic dito sa ating bansa. Kumilos na tayo habang maaga pa, habang wala pang surge. The time to act is now,” Sotto added.
