IMEE: NO MORE LOCKDOWNS; TIME TO LIVE WITH THE VIRUS

Senator Imee Marcos has prodded the government to stop resorting to lockdowns as a default measure in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and instead improve testing capacity to detect cases of infection early and isolate them immediately.

"Living with the virus should be our goal than achieving a zero-Covid target. Lockdowns are reactive, not proactive," Marcos explained.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on economic affairs, said that the 2022 budget must seriously fund the country's testing capacity to prevent the "blanket disruption in livelihood, income generation, and overall economic growth."

The senator credited the government for lowering the pandemic's reproduction rate since the August lockdown but added that unless testing capacity is improved to guard the gains that have been made, the country will be stuck in a constant rehash of alert levels and quarantine protocols.

The Covid-19 reproduction rate in the country, which reached a high of 2.04 in March 2020, has gone down this year from a high of 1.32 percent last March to 0.52 percent this week.

(Tagalog version)

IMEE: ITIGIL NA ANG MGA LOCKDOWN; MASANAY NANG MAMUHAY KASAMA ANG VIRUS

Hinimok ni Senador Imee Marcos ang pamahalaan na itigil na ang mga lockdown para makontrol ang Covid-19 pandemic at sa halip inirekomendang pagbutihin ang 'testing capacity' ng bansa para maagang matukoy ang mga kaso ng impeksyon at agad na maihiwalay.

"Layunin nating masanay na mamuhay kasama ang virus kaysa piliting makamtan ang target na zero-Covid. Hindi nasusugpo ng mga lockdown ang virus, nakokontrol lang," paliwanag ni Marcos.

Sinabi ni Marcos, chairman ng Senate committee on economic affairs na dapat seryosong mapondohan ang 'testing capacity' ng Pilipinas sa ilalim ng 2022 budget para mapigilang "makaabala sa ating kabuhayan, paghanap ng kikitain, at sa paglago ng ating ekonomiya."

Kinikilala ni Marcos na nagawang mapababa ng gobyerno ang paglobo ng natatamaan ng virus mula nang pairalin ang lockdown noong Agosto, pero dagdag nito, kung hindi mai-improve o mapapabuti ang testing capacity ng bansa para bantayan ang mga nakamit laban sa virus, matetengga na lang ang bansa sa mga paulit-ulit na alert level at mga quarantine protocol.

Ang paglobo ng Covid-19 sa bansa, na may pinakamataas na naitala sa bansa na 2.04 noong Marso 2020, ay bumaba na mula sa taas na 1.32 percent nitong nagdaang Marso tungo sa 0.52.