MANILA, Philippines — (Updated 4:33 p.m.) Two senators and a former coronavirus task force adviser again called on the government to rethink its approach to the pandemic after cases on Friday reached an all-time high — more than a year into community quarantine.
"I believe it’s time for government to call for a summit to regroup and redefine the plan of action. Too many measures, hardly any impact," Dr. Tony Leachon, a public health expert, said on Twitter on Saturday.
Related Stories
I believe it’s time for government to call for a summit to regroup and redefine the plan of action. Too many measures , hardly any impact.
Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail! https://t.co/JYUK6rMiOG— Tony Leachon MD (@DrTonyLeachon) March 19, 2021
"We need a systematic plan now, before we reach a breaking point," Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged partially in Filipino the day before, shortly after the Philippines recorded 7,103 new infections.
Bilang nanay na may anak na may asthma, natatakot ako. As we should be at how fast these numbers are rising.
— risa hontiveros (@risahontiveros) March 19, 2021
At 7,103 cases, it's the worst we've EVER had.
We need a systematic plan now, bago tayo makarating sa breaking point. (1/2)
"Numbers don't lie: We are failing," she said on Twitter.
What has the government been doing amid the spike in cases?
But the government continues to fumble its response, reversing policies left and right, unable to decide on the first try if migrant workers should be able to return home, or if vaccines should be concentrated in Metro Manila, where cases are highest, while supply runs low.
READ: Philippines revises travel rules, allows entry of all Filipinos | Vaccines in provinces to be returned to NCR
In response to President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to approve the recall of vaccines in provinces back to the National Capital Region, Leachon asked: "Why were they sent to the provinces in the first place when ground zero is in the NCR?"
"There goes another big misstep," he said on Twitter.
In response to the sharp rise in cases, Malacañang on Friday announced that some establishments in general community quarantine areas are ordered to shutter or reduce venue capacity until April 4. It also ordered a reduction of on-site capacity in government offices.
However, these adjustments are a far cry from the "circuit breaker" or "hard GCQ" that the OCTA Research Group and other experts have been asking for.
When asked about OCTA's request, presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Friday said the coronavirus task force considered it but ultimately decided against it.
"[T]he balance between the employment of our countrymen and slowing the spread of COVID is very delicate," he said in Filipino.
But Hontiveros remarked in Filipino: "As a mother who has a child with asthma, I'm scared."
"As we [all] should be at how fast these numbers are rising."
As of this writing, the Philippines has recorded 648,066 cases of coronavirus along with 12,900 deaths. It has been 370 days since the parts of the country were first placed under lockdown.
Binay calls for 'time out' on travel, mixed messaging from top officials
Sen. Nancy Binay on Saturday called for a "time out" on unnecessary travel as she criticized top officials' recent decision to remove mandatory COVID-19 testing and quarantine for those moving across cites and provinces.
"This is not the best time to relax and encourage everyone to go out and travel while COVID-19 cases are rising in the country," Binay said partially in Filipino.
Officials promoting "unnecessary and non-essential" travel, according to the senator, has bred confusion and complacency among ordinary citizens.
"We can see in videos and pictures on the news and social media that even celebrities and influencers are acting like everything is back to normal," she said in Filipino.
"Varying, irrelevant, and inconsistent messaging create public confusion, and damage whatever gains we have had in the fight against COVID."
Warning against increased mobility as Holy Week approaches, Binay urged citizens to participate in voluntary enhanced community quarantine, or to act as if a stringer lockdown is being enforced, something which Leachon has also been calling for in recent weeks.
— Bella Perez-Rubio