Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 28) — An infectious diseases expert said the increasing COVID-19 cases in the regions is a delayed effect of the surge caused by variants that started off in Metro Manila, the epicenter of the local coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Final Word, Dr. Bejamin Co suggested that travel outside the National Capital Region should be limited to address the issue. However, he noted that government officials might not accept his suggestion as they are pushing for more movement across borders.
When asked if allotting more vaccines to the areas of concern would be a solution, Co said this is just one of the ways to address the problem, considering there’s still limited supply. What really needs to happen is the implementation of stricter lockdowns, he emphasized.
Co also questioned why the Inter-Agency Task Force has to wait for a period of time before declaring stricter restrictions in areas with rising infections. This is also amid calls from local experts to enforce stricter rules, as healthcare facilities get overwhelmed.
“Why do we want to wait until June 1 before you declare something like that? Before you go to stricter quarantine, why do we want to wait until that period when we can declare it now?” he said.
On the next quarantine status for NCR Plus, Co said the general community quarantine should be retained, but “heightened restrictions can be eased out.”
The government is expected to announce the new quarantine classifications for June on or before May 31.
Latest data showed the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 1,209,154 with 53,770 active cases.
