Almost 5,000 new infections, setting a record for 2021 for the 2nd day in a row, is no joke.
Binigay na lahat ng enabling policies at support ang IATF para tumugon sa pandemya. Ano ang excuse nila ngayon? Nakakaflashback to the start of the pandemic ang mga band-aid solutions at decisions ng gobyerno. After one year, this is just plain slugishness. Slowmo ang galaw ng IATF sa mabilis na kumakalat na virus, parang walang 12,694 na namatay na. We keep on celebrating too early by drastically relaxing health protocols and sending mixed signals to the public, but we haven’t even flattened the curve since the onset of the pandemic.
We have to return to the basics— test, trace and isolate— and execute this consistently and decisively. I am shocked that to this day we still do not have a unified contact tracing system, which is supposed to be fundamental and basic to our pandemic response. I also urge the IATF, DOH and NTF to provide periodic and free COVID-19 testing to all individuals who are at particular risk of spreading COVID-19 such as frontline workers with high customer interaction, transport workers and even delivery riders who travel to different locations and come into contact with numerous people.
The IATF, DOH and DILG do not need to go back to the drawing board. All the elements are there, we just need to improve our mediocre implementation.
Taasan naman natin yung standards natin ng “excellent”.
