The head of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) and former vice president Jejomar Binay have cautioned the government against relaxing COVID-19 restrictions too quickly as it may result in a fourth wave of infections.
The warning from Dr. Maricar Limpin came as transport officials pushed to increase passenger capacity on public utility vehicles to 100 percent.
“It’s a little bit frightening, that we’re going to do 100 percent, and we understand that’s what they’re proposing and that’s the plan because of the downward trend of our COVID-19 cases,” she said in Filipino.
Binay also warned it was too early to relax quarantine restrictions.
Binay, who is seeking a Senate seat next year, said the national government should learn from the premature loosening of restrictions at around this time last year.
“We were hit by a surge a few months after, even worse than the surge last year. And it is the people who suffered the most. They should be cautious. They should be prepared and they should be certain. It is better to be cautious now, than sorry later,” he said.
Limpin said even if new daily cases have dropped to about 3,000, this still means that the virus is still in the Philippines.
She also noted that there is a slight uptick in COVID-19 cases worldwide.
“In the UK, cases are increasing, and we’re seeing a mutation in the Delta variant, and of course we’re not just opening 100 percent capacity in transportation but we’ve also opened our borders, so we’ve also opened up the possibility that there’s going to be a mutation here,” she said.
Limpin noted that social distancing would no longer be possible in public transportation if they operate at full capacity.
“Definitely there’s no safety protocols there except for the mask,” she said.
She said air-conditioned buses were particularly dangerous as these would be enclosed spaces with no air circulating from outside.
Limpin advised government officials to take it slow when it comes to easing quarantine restrictions.
“So I would like to recommend that they think about it first. Maybe it’s not bad if we still implement current strict measures and interventions,” she said.
Binay said while cases are declining and more people are vaccinated now than last year, vaccine hesitancy remains high in the provinces, and they also lack access to vaccines.
The former vice president said hospital administrators have said they are not feeling the downtrend as their facilities remain full. He added that the situation is aggravated by the continuing departure of nurses and health workers.
Instead of spending money on projects such as the dolomite beach on Roxas Boulevard in Manila, the government should shift spending priorities to public health, Binay said.
Amid these warnings, the Department of Health (DOH) said COVID-19 deaths have gone down by more than half the peak tallied last month.
The Philippines has been recording a daily average of 68 coronavirus deaths this month, down from a peak of 168 a day in September, said DOH Epidemiology Bureau chief Dr. Alethea De Guzman.
The country has gone down to low-risk classification as coronavirus cases declined, the Health Department said earlier this week.
“We continue to remind people that despite the decline in our cases, utilization rate, and deaths, this is not the time to be complacent,” De Guzman said, following reports of crowds at malls and an artificial beach in Manila.
“We need to be able to sustain the gains,” she said in a televised briefing.
Metro Manila is under COVID-19 Alert Level 3 until Sunday. Malacañang earlier said there was a big chance that the region’s 13 million people would shift to a lower alert level.
A total of 19 other areas are covered by the pilot of the 5-level alert system and accompanying granular lockdowns since last week. The number of areas under strict quarantine have also gone down.
Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday said 14 destinations across the country have scrapped their swab test requirement for fully vaccinated guests.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat welcomed the latest development, noting that the DOT has been pushing for fewer restrictions and requirements, especially if the local travel destinations have high vaccination rates among their locals and tourism workers.
The following destinations have agreed to waive the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and antigen testing as of Oct. 24: Cebu province, Lapu-Lapu City, Catbalogan City, Bohol, -Iloilo City, Negros Occidental, Clark Freeport Zone (except for those from areas under ECQ), Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Tarlac (except for those from areas under ECQ and MECQ), Masbate province, Southern Leyte, Tacloban City, Maasin City and Misamis Oriental
Bohol, Iloilo City and Negros Occidental are also requiring a vaccination certificate generated from vaxcert.doh.gov.ph on top of other travel requirements.
For the remaining destinations, the DOT advised travelers to check directly with the concerned local government unit for other required entry documents.
Meanwhile, Boracay Island still requires a negative RT-PCR swab test result for all allowed tourists, including those from the National Capital Region, except for tourists within Panay Island, including Guimaras province.
Until October 31, no provinces were under the ECQ category while only six areas were classified under MECQ — Naga City, the provinces of Kalinga, Batanes, Bataan, Zamboanga City and Zamboanga del Norte.
Romulo-Puyat said the DOT would continue to work with the National Task Force Against Covid-19, the LGUs and the private sector to ensure that 100 percent of tourism workers in the country will receive their COVID-19 jabs by December 2021.