Presidential aspirant and Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said he has no plans yet of resuming his “Listening Tour” as he is now focused on responding to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) surge being driven by the Omicron variant.
“Wala, hindi ko talaga iniisip. Ang gusto ko talaga ngayon kapag kayo ay na-impeksyon ay magamot namin kayo. Ang gusto ko ngayon, pag may na impeksyon gumaling kayo agad. Gusto naming meron kayong pasilidad, meron kayong doctor (No, I don’t really think about it. What I really want now when you are infected is that we can treat you. What I want now is for you to heal immediately. We want you to have a facility, to have a doctor,” Domagoso said after his inspection of the Araullo Quarantine Facility on Monday, Jan. 4.
“Naka-focus tayo dito sa pandemic ngayon, itong surge. Kasi kailangan maagapan natin ito kaya hinahanda ko ang ating lungsod at ating mamamayan. That will come later (We’re focused here on the pandemic right now, this surge. Because we need to be prepared for this so I am preparing our city and our people. That will come later),” he added.
The Manila mayor noted that there were also doctors, nurses, and other medical frontliners who have been infected by the virus which is why the city government need to respond immediately.
“Just to be fair to the public, to you, marami kaming medical frontliners na nare-infect as of 9 a.m. today, as per report ng ating mga ospital. Marami tayong mga nurses, doctors na nare-infect (we have many medical frontliners who are infected as of 9 a.m. today, as per report of our hospitals. We have a lot of nurses, doctors who are infected),” he said.
There were at least 12 quarantine facilities that have already been readied by the city government for the anticipated surge in cases.
“We are trying to prepare our city in our own little way through our health department and Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and the Manila Police District of any possible surge that will demand quarantine facility. We have activated our quarantine facilities about two days ago,” Domagoso said.
He appealed anew to those who are still unvaccinated to get jabbed as majority of the active cases in the city are unvaccinated individuals.
“If you are not vaccinated the chances of getting infected is high. Ang Omicron malakas makahawa, most likely magkaka-COVID ka (Omicron is highly contagious, most likely you will get COVID),” he said.
On Jan. 2, Metro Manila mayors passed a resolution restricting the movement of unvaccinated individuals amid the current surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.