Use ‘timeout’ to reboot Covid-19 plans: solon

Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo (File photo via PNA)

MANILA – A member of the House of Representatives on Monday said the government should use the two weeks of stricter quarantine to “reboot” its response plans in fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo supported the reimposition of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal from Aug. 4 to 18 after the confirmed cases in the country exceeded 100,000.

“Though we stand to lose PHP12 billion per day, I support the shift from GCQ (general community quarantine) to MECQ for NCR and others, given the recent spikes in new Covid cases. Our medical front-liners are in the best position to assess whether our healthcare system still has the capacity to care for our increasing number of Covid patients,” Quimbo said.

“But this time, let’s use this lockdown period productively. Reboot natin ang (Let’s reboot) Covid plans,” she added.

Quimbo stressed the need for better data collection, analysis, and reporting, as well as using data strategically to reduce new infections.

“Let’s use this timeout to plan how to report data in a way that reminds people how one’s actions impact everyone else. Being careful for one’s self will help take care of our community and country. Isipin ang sarili pati bayan (Think of yourself and the country),” she said.

She said the Department of Health must clearly communicate to the public what each one has to do to keep their families safe.

“When one’s family is safe, the community is safe, and the nation is safe. Then, our economy can move forward and each worker can begin to earn a living again. But every Filipino has to do his or her part,” she said.

Localized approach

She noted that the lockdown period can also be used to plan for a more localized approach to disease control moving forward.

Local government units (LGUs), she said, should be allowed to impose their localized lockdowns and be required to set up their own quarantine facilities.

“Dapat ma-reward ang LGUs na napabagal ang pagkalat ng virus sa pamamagitan ng pag-lift ng MECQ. Lugi naman ang mga masisipag na LGUs kung pati sila magdurusa ang kanilang ekonomiya sa kapalpakan ng iba (The LGUs that will be able to slow the spread of the virus should be rewarded through the lifting of MECQ. It would be unfair for hardworking LGUs to also suffer economic impacts for the failure of others),” she said.

She urged Congress to pass the Bayanihan to Recover as One bill or Bayanihan 2 to provide more funds for LGUs in their Covid-19 efforts, including the cash aid for the most vulnerable.

Quimbo said that with expanded testing, LGUs must ensure that close contacts are traced and isolated if they tested positive for Covid-19.

However, she stressed that the families of those who will be isolated or quarantined should be given enough subsidy.

“Kung walang ayuda, magtatago lang ang positibo o di papayag magpa-test…Pero kung may sapat na ayuda ang pamilya, tiyak papayag ang Covid patient na pumunta sa quarantine facility dahil ayaw rin naman nyang mahawa ang mga anak nya. Kaya’t kelangan mabigyan ng budget ang mga LGUs para magawa ito (If there’s no aid, those who are infected would just hide or refuse testing… But if there is enough subsidy for the families, then the Covid-19 patient would agree to go to a quarantine facility because he wouldn’t want to infect his family members. That’s why the LGUs should be given a budget to do this),” she said.

In a late-night public address on Sunday, Duterte approved the recommendation of his Cabinet to return to a more stringent quarantine status in response to medical front-liners’ call for a “timeout” to prevent the collapse of the country’s healthcare system amid the prevailing health crisis.