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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Poe: Mass testing, contact tracing must accompany lockdowns

Poe: Mass testing, contact tracing must accompany lockdowns

Published Mar 18, 2021 05:44 pm

The imposition of lockdowns should be accompanied with  mass testing and contact tracing efforts to ensure that the spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is controlled, Senator Grace Poe said.

Senator Grace Poe
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO)

"As we pin our hopes on the arrival of more COVID-19 vaccines, let us not lose the sense of urgency in conducting mass testing and contact tracing — which are the backbone of our pandemic response," she said in a statement on Wednesday, March 17.

"Granular lockdowns being imposed in some areas in Metro Manila should have complementary testing of the residents not just in the area, but of the surrounding communities as well," she added.

"The spread of the disease would just resume upon the lifting of the lockdowns without mass testing," she pointed out.

Some local chief executives have decided to place some villages in their jurisdiction under lockdown following the spike in COVID-19 cases.

Metro Manila mayors earlier agreed to adopt the unified curfew hours from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting March 15, and ban anew minors from going out of their homes.

But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a television Wednesday that he still does not recommend the implementation stricter community quarantine in Metro Manila, saying the localized lockdowns were beginning to "yield positive outcomes".

Poe said the government "should carry out as many tests as possible, including on those with no visible symptoms as a preemptive strike to lessen the risk of exposing their household, immediate community and workplace to infection." "We hope the government is persistently working to achieve its promise of 10 million tests by the first quarter of 2021, and even more," she appealed.

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