Bong Go tells Filipinos to maintain discipline, remain vigilant amid rise in new COVID-19 cases; stresses 'prevention is better than cure'

Senator Christopher "Bong" Go once again reminded Filipinos to maintain discipline, remain vigilant, and cooperate with the government in the face of rising new cases of COVID-19 infections.

"Ang disiplina, pag-iingat, at kooperasyon ng lahat ay malaking tulong upang mapagaan ang pinapasan ng ating health workers at para hindi umapaw ang bilang ng mga kailangang magpa-ospital. Huwag sana tayong maging kampante dahil andyan pa ang banta ng COVID-19," Go told the public.

He urged Filipinos to strictly comply with health protocols, such as wearing masks and face shields in public, observing social distancing, washing hands, and staying at home, which have been proven to be at least 90% effective in preventing disease transmission when practiced in combination according to experts.

"Kung gagawin natin ito, mahigit 90 percent ang tyansa na maiiwasan nating mahawaan ng sakit ayon sa mga eksperto," said Go.

Meanwhile, the Senator also urged concerned government agencies to double down on their efforts to mitigate the burden on the public health system amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

"We need to double our efforts to reduce further the waiting time for patients needing urgent treatment or admission, provide faster medical transport and patient pick-up, and facilitate much-improved use of critical care services in our health facilities," he suggested.

The Senator, who is also chair of the Senate Committee on Health, called on all agencies involved in the 'One Hospital Command' to strengthen further all interventions and maximize all resources for a more effective and efficient health facility referral system in Metro Manila and other critical areas in the country.

He also asked the national government and local government units to expand and improve further the available quarantine and isolation facilities in order to help unburden hospitals.

"While we exert efforts to improve the capacity and capabilities of our healthcare services, we also need to reiterate to our people that prevention is better than cure," said Go.

Despite the low case fatality rate of COVID-19 in the country and most of the cases belonging to the mild or asymptomatic classification, Go asked Filipinos to remain vigilant and not to be complacent as the threats of COVID-19 still exist.

"Bagama't 1.8 percent lang ang fatality rate ng COVID-19 sa bansa at 98.2 percent ng lahat ng kaso ay mild at asymptomatic, ayon sa datos ng DOH kahapon, hindi ibig sabihin na magkukumpyansa na tayo," he reminded.

"Dagdagan natin ang pag-iingat para hindi madagdagan ang kailangang gamutin," advised Go.

He also assured the public that the government is working hard to hasten the inoculation of medical frontliners so they can perform their duties in a safe manner.

"Binibilisan din natin ang vaccination, lalo na ng medical frontliners dahil kailangan nila ng proteksyon ng bakuna para mas magampanan ang kanilang tungkulin," he said.

"Lahat ng tulong na maibibigay natin sa health workers ay ibigay natin bilang pagkilala at pasasalamat sa kanilang sakripisyo at serbisyo sa bayan," he concluded.