No need for stricter quarantine amid emergence of new COVID variant – DILG

Niño Jesus Orbeta/INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año does not yet see the need to impose stricter quarantine rules in the country as there is no evidence yet that the new COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom has arrived in the country.

“Para sa akin, hindi pa naman kinakailangan na magkaroon tayo ng strict lockdown kasi wala pa naman tayong pruwebang nakapasok na dito,” he said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo on Monday.

“I don’t see the need yet to impose a stricter lockdown because there is no evidence yet that the new variant has entered our shores.)

“Wala pa naman tayong tinatawag na transmission from that kind of variant,” Año added.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año

He issued the remark after President Rodrigo Duterte said strict lockdown measures could be reimposed if the new COVID-19 variant spreads in the country.

As of now, Año said the government is more focused on its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the holidays.

“Sa ngayon, ang pinagkakaabalahan natin, ano ba yung epekto ng holidays — ‘yung bagong taon at Christmas —  sa pandemic,” he said.

“Kasi kahit anong higpit natin, may mga nakalusot pa rin na nag-conduct ng kanilang get-together, reunion, nagkainan,” he added.

Members of the Inter-Agency Task Forces against Infectious Diseases will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the government’s COVID-19 response.

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