The OCTA Research group suggested that placing the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus (Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal) under a bubble again will greatly help to protect these areas against the Delta variant, following reported local cases of the variant.
OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said on Sunday (July 18) that the last bubble was “effective” against the surge and it was controlled within the region.
“This is just an idea pa lang, pero the last time we had a bubble sa NCR Plus noong nagka-surge tayo was to keep our other neighboring provinces safe from the virus, and it was effective naman. Hindi masyado kumalat ‘yung surge natin, na-control natin within the region,” he said.
David emphasized that the aim of the bubble is to preserve the NCR Plus economy against the entry of the Delta variant.
“Right now we are okay sa NCR habang wala pa ang Delta variant dito, the numbers look good, mababa ‘yung hospitalization natin, mababa ‘yung positivity rate natin,” he added.
He said a stricter border control around Metro Manila must be imposed for the protection of the region and its neighboring areas.
“The bubble is one discussion and the other is stricter border control, they could be together or pwedeng bubble lang. If we are in a bubble, it’s understood that we have strict border controls in NCR Plus, plus neighboring regions, and again we don’t have to change ‘yung quarantine classification natin if we are protected inside the bubble,” he explained.
He said that it is important for local governments to be proactive to avoid a repetition of the surge of March 2021. However, he believes that vaccination has greatly helped to prevent a recurrence of the surge.
Report from Rod Lagusad/NGS- jlo
