SAFETY PRECAUTION. Commuters at the EDSA Bus Carousel in Nepa Q-Mart Station in Quezon City wear their face masks on March 29, 2023. A survey by the Social Weather Stations last December 2022 said 91 percent or 9 out of 10 Filipinos agree with the voluntary wearing of face masks. (PNA photo by Joey O .Razon)
MANILA – The restoration of community quarantines and lockdowns are no longer necessary, according to a senator amid the spike in the number coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the country.
Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said most of these cases are mild and people are already aware of the basic health protocols.
"I don't think there is a need anymore for a declaration of public health emergency o yung mga (or the likes of) [Enhance Community Quarantine] ECQ," Ejercito told reporters in a press briefing on Monday.
However, he clarified that the government still needs the budget allocation for Covid-19 response.
"Pero hindi naman pwedeng totally alisin pa rin yung budget for Covid-19 response. I think dun sa mga hindi pa din nagpapabakuna o booster shot, kailangan pa din natin (But we cannot totally remove the budget for Covid-19 response. I think those who have not yet taken their vaccine or booster shots, they still need it). I think that will help us a lot as a protection against Covid-19 virus," Ejercito said.
After more than three years after its original declaration, the World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for Covid-19 last week.
The OCTA Research reported that last Saturday, the Covid-19 positivity rate rose to 19.3 percent with most of the new cases recorded in Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that as of Sunday, there are a total of 11,408 active Covid-19 cases in the country.
Senator Christopher Lawrence Go urged the public to wear face masks especially in public areas as a precautionary measure against the virus.
“Sa ngayon po, voluntary na lang po ang pagsusuot [ng masks]. Bagama’t voluntary, ako po ay nananawagan sa mga kababayan natin na kung hindi naman sagabal, mag-face mask pa rin tayo (Currently, wearing of masks is voluntary. But despite that, I am calling on our people that if possible, let us still wear face masks),” Go said during his recent visit to poor families in Cavite City.
The public is also urged by Senator Lito Lapid to continue following the government's health protocol.
"Dapat hindi natin makalimutan ang mga natutuhan natin sa pandemya. Huwag na nating antayin na maulit ang pinakamalalang bahagi nito (We should not forget what we have learned from the pandemic. Let us not wait for a repeat of its worst part)," Lapid said in a statement.
During a hearing by the House Committee on Appropriations, DOH Officer-in-charge Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said over 90 percent of the Covid-19 infections being recorded recently are "mild and asymptomatic cases". (PNA)
