Former vice president Jejomar “Jojo” Binay on Thursday (July 29) slammed the Department of Health (DOH) for “contradicting” the proposal of an independent research group to impose circuit-breaker lockdown amid the threat of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.
OCTA has recently suggested the implementation of a 'circuit-breaker" lockdown for two weeks due to the threat of the Delta variant.
“Bakit ang knee-jerk reaction ng DOH leadership ay kontrahin agad ang independent experts? Why not meet and discuss instead? Akala ko ba whole-of-nation approach in fighting COVID? Bakit parang ayaw ng DOH na makinig sa ibang sector (Why is it that the knee-jerk reaction of the DOH leadership is to contradict the independent experts? I thought we have a whole-of-nation approach in fighting COVID? Why does it seem that the DOH does not want to listen to other sectors)?” he said in a statement.
Binay stressed that the COVID-19 Delta variant has the potential “to bring our country to its knees.”
“This is why everyone is concerned and putting forward possible courses of action to stop it from spreading. But we do not see any urgency in the actions of the DOH leadership,” he added.
The DOH, according to Binay, seems to be oblivious to the fact that by their inaction, they are again putting in peril the lives of doctors, nurses, and other medical frontliners.
“They seem to be treating lightly the untold sufferings that an outbreak of Delta may bring to the people.”
“The DOH leadership is saying we don’t need to worry. They are ready. The last time they said that was last year, when the first cases of COVID were officially confirmed. Look where we are now,” he added.