The government should make preparations for the gradual easing of restrictions as more Filipinos are already vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an expert from the OCTA Research group said Thursday, May 27.
In an interview over ANC, OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco said the United States is now returning to normalcy after vaccinating its population against COVID-19.
While it has not yet achieved herd immunity, Austriaco said the US government has already lifted measures requiring people to wear mask if they are fully vaccinated.
“I think that the government has to be ready to gradually relax the minimum health standards as more and more Filipinos are vaccinated to do two things: to give us hope and to give an incentive to those who are hesitant,” said Austriaco, who is a molecular biologist and professor in the US.
“So I encourage the government over the next few months to explore possible ways to begin to relax the minimal health standards for those who are fully vaccinated so that they will show on Facebook and social media that we are going back to normal and that everyone has a role to play in this,” he added.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported that more than one million people have already been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country, with around 4.5 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide.
Among those fully vaccinated individuals, the Health department said 581,797 are healthcare workers, 195,952 are senior citizens, 250,777 are people with comorbidities, and 535 essential workers.
Although the number of infections have been decreasing, Austriaco said the “absolute” number of cases remains high similar to that of the figures recorded during the peak of the first surge in August last year.
“Even though the numbers are substantially lower than the peak that we had in April, if you compare it to the peak of the surge last year, they are comparable now,” he said.
“And we would like to keep these numbers going down in order for our contact tracing, and isolation and quarantine procedures to be as optimal as possible,” he said.
He said OCTA would not be oppose if the government gradually relax the existing restrictions “because things are getting better.” This is also in order to keep the economic engine going.
The expert pointed out that what OCTA is concerned are the large social gatherings during the pandemic that are potential super spreader events.
“We cannot be in lockdown forever,” Austriaco said. “One of the reasons why we are in lockdown is to build capacity. The government has assured us that capacity is now better than it was prior to the second surge.”
“And so, we are now ready to open up slowly and gradually in order to see and to test this new capacity,” he added.