By Nino Luces LEGAZPI CITY, Albay - Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Elizaldy Co proposed the "conditional" lifting of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in select areas to help government's burden during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Co said that, although it was still subject to further study and evaluation by the health experts, including members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID), his proposal was to lift ECQ in areas with zero to one case of COVID-19 in the last 15 days, or – in the case of municipalities – only those with zero cases. “The objective of quarantine lifting is to allow people, albeit in limited numbers and in select localities, to return to their jobs. We’re fighting a protracted war and until no vaccine is invented, government’s limited resources can’t support and feed all those who were displaced. We need to save government funds for the longer battle,” Co said. Co pointed out that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), it was estimated that it would take at least two years before an effective vaccine against COVID-19 is discovered. "During the Spanish Flu, it took four years. But the economy can’t wait and our resources can’t last that long,” he stressed. “With sufficient data, government can plan and identify which areas can reopen or remain in full lockdown. If we implement selective quarantine, initial estimates indicate that we can save as much as P30 billion,” he said.