The National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 has proposed imposing stricter mobility restrictions on individuals who have yet to receive Covid-19 vaccines, amid the steady rise in cases in the past days.
NTF chief implementer Vince Dizon, who is also President Rodrigo Duterte’s adviser for Covid-19 response, suggested that the country replicate stricter measures implemented by other countries on their unvaccinated citizens.
“Ito po talaga ang sitwasyon ngayon ng mga iba’t ibang bansa, hindi lang tayo, na ang unvaccinated are really the ones that are being hit badly by the new variants and they are the ones causing the healthcare systems to be congested. And because of that, they pose the greatest risk,” Dizon said, citing the measures undertaken by France, Germany and South Korea.
Dizon said that imposing stricter restrictions would prevent deaths.
“Napakataas po ng diperensiya nung mga namamatay na unvaccinated versus sa vaccinated po—halos wala, kaunting-kaunti lang po. So tama po talaga, ‘yung iyong sinabi na talaga pong kailangan maging mas strikto tayo sa mga hindi bakunado,” Dizon said.
Metro Manila mayors earlier released a resolution restricting the movement of unvaccinated individuals in public spaces.
“We are recommending that this policy in NCR also be adopted by the entire country even in areas po na hindi pa nagsu-surge dahil alam naman po natin it is really just a matter of time na itong Omicron ay kumalat na sa buong bansa,” Dizon said.
The Philippines has over 50 million fully vaccinated and more than 57 million partially vaccinated individuals as of Jan. 4. John Ezekiel J. Hirro