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Concepcion suggests limiting movement of unvaccinated people to quell Delta spread
Concepcion suggests limiting movement of unvaccinated people to quell Delta spread
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion urged the government to make "bold moves" like limiting the movement of the unvaccinated population to prevent the further spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Concepcion made the statement after the Department of Health (DOH) reported the latest count of Delta infections in the country at 64.
In a meeting with some members of the government's pandemic task force, medical experts, and private sector leaders, the Go Negosyo Founder said the government could consider exerting more pressure on those who continued to refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines.
He likewise suggested to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to consider limiting the movement of unvaccinated people like the recent policy enforced in France to prevent the spread of the disease.
Concepcion raised the possibility of restricting the unpopulated population from entering certain establishments, eating out, or moving around the country as they posed a risk to public health.
He said incentives can be provided to businesses that will aim for full vaccination of their employees, such as increased operational capacity so they can recover lost revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individuals can also be incentivized by granting them more mobility and ease of travel, which will mean doing away with mandatory tests since they have become fully protected against COVID-19.
Concepcion hoped that President Duterte and the government's pandemic task force will consider his suggestion.
"It might be one of the good news that can possibly come up as we approach President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday," he said.
As of July 21, a total of 15,953,911 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered with 5,231,469 individuals receiving the required two doses since the vaccination program started on March 1.
Meanwhile, Concepcion was not keen on the idea of implementing another lockdown as the country can no longer afford a severe setback to the economy, especially during the fourth quarter which is deemed to be the strongest quarter for the private sector.
"If the coming fourth quarter will be a disaster because of the Delta variant, then the entire 2022 will face a severe challenge," he said.