Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion has called for a more proactive approach in preventing a surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, saying this is important to keep the country's still-recovering economy open.
Concepcion made the statement following the discovery of the B.1.1.529 variant of COVID-19 which has been described as "very different" from other previous variants.
The particular variant is causing concern as it appears to be more transmissible than the Delta variant and is highly mutated.
In a statement, the Go Negosyo founder noted the importance of keeping the number of vaccinations against the disease up, saying the private sector is doing its part to keep the economy open.
“If we want to keep the economy open, we need to take action and vaccinate all our employees and family members and comply with health protocol and guidelines," he said Friday, Nov. 26.
"The private sector has been proactive ever since with calling of the lockdown and securing vaccines. Now we are working together to discuss how to sustain this momentum and prevent a surge again," he added.
On Friday, Malacañang assured the public that the government is actively monitoring developments surrounding the newly discovered "most heavily mutated" COVID-19 variant.
"We are monitoring any developments on the ground, patuloy pa rin ang ating genomic surveillance (and our genomic surveillance continues)," Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said.
Meanwhile, Concepcion recalled that the private sector’s proactive move to call for an early lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR) in August was effective in bringing down the number of new COVID-19 cases in the metro.
The call was made by the private sector upon heeding the analysis by OCTA Research. The rise in cases was believed to have been triggered by the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant.
"There was opposition to the call, but we chose to believe the data," he said.
Go Negosyo will be hosting a townhall meeting this Dec. 15 called "VAX to the MAX: Preventing the Surge" wherein they will be bringing in data and medical experts, key government officials, and the private sector to discuss how the Philippines can head off a surge following the granting of increased mobility among Filipinos.
Initiatives such as VAX to the MAX monitor vaccination rates across the country to encourage local government units (LGUs) to step up their vaccination rates.
"Vaccination remains our primary weapon against the virus," Concepcion said.