Vice President Leni Robredo has called for stricter border control in the National Capital Region and four neighboring provinces, also called the NCR Plus bubble, to fight against the entry of the Delta variant in the country’s center of commerce and economic activities.
Robredo clarified, however, that easing restrictions in the country’s capital is okay as long as the minimum health standards are implemented properly.
The government recently allowed children five years old and up to go to outdoor public places. Senior citizens who are fully vaccinated are also allowed outside their homes.
Admittedly, she noted restricting access to Metro Manila is not an easy task because of the jobs and businesses there.
“So, kailangan talaga na mag-devise ng paraan kung papaano mas mahihigpitan iyong border control ng NCR Plus bubble (So, we really need to device a plan how to tighten border control in the NCR Plus bubble),” Robredo said on her Sunday radio show.
NCR Plus bubble includes the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna. Except for Laguna, which is still under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions, the rest of the areas are under the least restrictive GCQ.
Her call came amid the entrance of the more transmissible Delta variant in the country. The Department of Health (DOH) recently announced 11 cases of the variant that drove surges in India and Indonesia.
READ: Robredo bats for J&J jabs in Delta hotspot areas
Robredo said that the country cannot afford to have a third surge, considering that the number of cases hasn’t gone down to pre-second surge levels yet.
“Okay naman na GCQ na or MGCQ iyong ibang areas pero sana implementation niya hindi parang complacent. Ito talaga iyong pinagsisimulan. Ito talaga kailangan nating bantayan (It’s okay that we are under GCQ or MGCQ in the other areas but we shouldn’t be complacent with the implementation. This is where it will start. This is what we need to guard),” she added.
The Philippines lodged 6,040 cases on Saturday, July 17, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to more than 1.5 million with 47,257 active cases. This was the highest in over two weeks or since July 2. It was also a far cry from the less-than-2,000 cases the country had before the second surge in March.
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand are all experiencing a surge in their COVID-19 cases because of the Delta variant, which is not only easily transmissible but also increases hospitalization.
READ: DOH detects 16 new cases of Delta variant in PH
“Hindi pwedeng maging complacent. Kasi kapag medyo tiwala tayo sobra, hindi tayo nagiging conscious. So, sana hindi sa atin mangyari, hindi mangyari iyon third surge (We cannot be complacent. Because when we became too complacent, we are not being conscious. So, I hope it doesn’t happen to us, the third surge doesn’t happen),” Robredo said.
The vice president is also pushing for enhanced capacity for hospitals so “just in case” a third surge happens, the country’s health system is prepared.