MANILA, Philippines – The government should extend the quarantine in areas largely affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, such as Metro Manila, but with some modifications, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Wednesday.
“Ang inaasahan ko at sana maging mangyari ay modified. Meaning yung mga biggest hit areas, katulad ng NCR (National Capital Region)…hindi pwedeng i-lift, kailangan i-extend pero kailangan may modification,” Sotto said in an interview on dzMM.
(What I expect to happen and what I hope would happen is modifed. Meaning the quarantine could not be lifted in biggest-hit areas, like NCR, it has to be extended but it needs to be modified).
He issued the suggestion a day before President Rodrigo Duterte is set to decide on whether or not to extend the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.
Sotto said the government can just enforce “safe distancing” in areas with very low or no recorded cases of COVID-19.
“Yun namang ibang areas na mga hindi naman talaga apektado masyado, may mga probinsyang wala e, walang katama-tama e…yung mga areas na yun pwede lang safe distancing,” he said.
(Those areas who are not really that affected, there are provinces that have yet to record a case…safe distancing will suffice in those areas).
“For example yung tricycle sige payagan na pero isa lang ang sakay, tapos sa mga bus kailangan isang bintana, isang tao, mga ganun,” he added.
(For example, we can allow tricycle but only with one passenger at a time and then in buses, only one person would occupy per row).
Earlier, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Chief Executive “needs more time” to decide whether or not to extend the Luzon-wide quarantine, which is scheduled for lifting on April 30.
To date, Philippine health officials have so far confirmed 6,599 COVID-19 cases in the country.
Of these cases, 437 have died while 654 patients have recovered.