Opposition Senator Leila De Lima on Wednesday urged the government to come up with a solid strategy to fight the threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which is reportedly more infectious than the Delta variant.

De Lima said it is imperative for the government to take critical steps towards managing the COVID-19 pandemic and be more proactive in their response to the issue.

“By now, we all know that fighting any variant of COVID-19 goes beyond requiring people to wear face shields, and this government should know by now that they need to meticulously yet quickly come up with a solid strategy to prevent the possible entry of the Omicron variant in the country,” De Lima said in a statement.

“We cannot afford to have a mere reactive response in handling this new threat that poses yet again serious challenges to our health care system,” she added.

Among the things that the government should consider in its strategy include “ensuring strict implementation of border control and strengthening efforts to address the continuing vaccine hesitancy," De Lima suggested.

She noted that a growing number of countries have reported confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, with Africa recording the highest number of cases (77) as of Nov. 30.

She said the government should relentlessly seek to address vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos as “it will save as many lives as possible and it gives us a solid layer of protection from the virus.”

“Magdadalawang taon na tayong nasa gitna ng pandemya, (We are already two years into the pandemic)," she pointed out.

"Hindi naman pwedeng abangan na lang natin ang pagdating ng mas mabagsik na variant ng virus, o kaya naman ay umasa pa rin sa mga palpak na solusyon (We can't just wait on the variant to enter our borders or rely on unreliable solutions),” she said.

In addressing the issue, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III recently said he is anticipating the entry of the Omicron variant, similar to the country's experience with the Alpha and Delta variant.

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, so talagang 'yan po papasok yan just as we have experienced with Alpha, Delta among the variants of concern," Duque had said.

With this, De Lima urged the public to do their part in helping address the pandemic by strictly following safety health protocols at all time, especially as the Christmas season sets in.

"Sa lahat ng ito, huwag po nating kalimutan na nasa gitna pa rin tayo ng pandemya (In all these, let's not forget that we are still in the middle of a pandemic)," De Lima said.

"Siguruhin nating nasusunod ang safety health protocols, imulat at hikayatin ang marami pa sa atin na magpabakuna (Let's follow safety health protocols and encourage more people to get vaccinated),” she said.