Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo on Thursday said the government should consider implementing tighter lockdowns in smaller bubbles so as to not restrict movement in the entire Metro Manila.
Speaking in front of reporters in Quezon City, Robredo said the “tiny bubbles” concept, introduced by Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, could be used as a substitute to extending the Metro Manila-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
“Kailangan ba talaga [‘yung ECQ extension]? Ito ‘yung pinopropose na hindi naman buong Metro Manila bubble ang ieextend ang ECQ. Puwede yung mga small bubbles, dun lang talaga sa mga areas na kailangan,” she said.
The “tiny bubbles” concept would require lockdowns at the city and municipality levels, instead of the regional level.
Robredo said it was too early to decide on the ECQ extension since the government had yet to ramp up its testing to determine the severity of the Covid-19 surge.
The vice president, citing the increasing positivity rates and new Covid-19 cases being recorded daily, said the government was not testing enough.
“Kapag napakataas ng positivity rate, kailangan iyong aim natin mapababa siya to less than five percent. And mapapababa siya to less than five percent if we test enough,” she said.
The Philippines has recorded 1,700,363 Covid-19 cases as of Aug. 12. John Ezekiel J. Hirro