Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Sunday, March 21 said the government task force against COVID-19 should consider temporarily ban mass gatherings again to control the rapid rise in coronavirus cases.

Go said the government should once again encourage companies to provide work-from-home arrangements, while ensuring that essential and even some non-essential services and industries remain operational to support the economy.

But the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography said businesses that would be allowed to continue operations would strictly adhere to safety protocols and minimum public health standards.

“What is important right now is to save the lives of many Filipinos because of the number of cases have surged again. We need to curb this while we continue with the vaccination program,” Go said in a statement.

He also urged families—particularly elders and vulnerable members, to take extra precautions by staying at home and avoiding unnecessary travels.

“Let’s try to avoid accepting visitors at home. The number of people we come into contact with should be limited in order to protect our families and avoid infecting each other,” Go said.

“We need to implement stringent measures again. So many people have become complacent,” he lamented.

“We should have learned from our experience last year when we experienced to be under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). If we have to return to a stricter guideline, let’s do it in a way it would be difficult to our citizens,” Go appealed.

On Saturday, the Philippines recorded 7,999 new COVID-19 cases. Experts said Saturday’s rates exceeded the coronavirus infection numbers in August last year when health-care workers called for a“timeout.”