Zubiri: We Need Stronger Government Response to COVID-19

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri is calling for stronger government response and action against the spread of COVID-19, following the Department of Health's announcement of two new confirmed cases on 6 March 2020.

"We need stricter quarantine measures, and we need protocols not only in our hospitals, but also in places where COVID-19 has been discovered to spread, such as workplaces and areas visited by patients who have been confirmed for the virus," Zubiri said.

"For instance, when the news broke out about the San Juan patient, I saw footage of my friend, Mayor Zamora, inspecting the Greenhills area without protective hazmat gear, with a number of people surrounding him, which could have placed them in danger. What are the protocols for this? This is a place that the patient has been known to frequent, surely it needs to be cordoned off and cleared of people, and anyone who needs to go there must be fully protected and the area fully disinfected."

"Another case involves an area in BGC that is full of restaurants and bars and is frequented by people all the time. Shouldn't these places have been disinfected and monitored? We don't want to create panic amongst our people, but we also don't want to fall into the complacency that initially pervaded in countries like Iran, South Korea, and Italy, and now they have thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths."

"We cannot afford to have slow and reactive government response to COVID-19. I am urging a more proactive approach from our agencies and local governments."

Zubiri also called for the early summer release of schools, "to allow our kids to stay safe at home and to allow our schools to be disinfected."

"There are only a few days left 'til the summer break, so we should ask DepEd to just order the early break, as what has been done to hundreds of millions of school kids all over the world to avoid contamination and spread."

"I also hope DOH is making testing kits available at all hospitals, so anyone with cough and colds can get tested. I don't think this is excessive. Let's not be complacent. We have seen how the virus has completely terrorized other countries. Let us not wait for the same thing to happen to us before we spring to action."