Robredo urges gov’t to listen to health experts

As the Philippines tries to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases, Vice President Leni Robredo says the government should listen to the recommendations of public health experts with regard to vaccine rollout, mass testing, and contact tracing.

But the problem, she said on Sunday, is that the government is “too defensive” whenever it is called out for bungling the reopening of the economy.

She also noted a lot of “bottlenecks” in vaccine deployment, including the lack of trained personnel to deliver vaccines and lack of vaccination training centers.

On Sunday, the Department of Health reported 7,757 new cases, the second highest single-day tally of new cases since the start of the world’s longest lockdown.

Amid the more alarming surge in infections, both the Palace and the country’s pandemic managers had maintained that they had done their best to contain COVID-19.

But more than a year into the pandemic, Robredo said the country still hasn’t doubled its testing rate from last year, nor improved its contact tracing—all basic requirements in reducing transmissions.