Go urges govt: Don’t prolong lockdown

SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Thursday called on the government to continue finding ways to avoid extending further the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in any part of the country.

Go, who heads the Senate health and demography committee, made the call as the government continues to monitor Covid-19 cases, particularly in critical areas such as the National Capital Region, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and Bulacan.

He said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) would meet on Saturday before making a recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte whether the weeklong lockdown should be extended.

“Umaapela ako sa IATF na pag-aralan ito ng mabuti at magkaroon ng cost-benefit analysis sa kanilang rekomendasyon (I appeal to the IATF to study carefully and conduct a cost-benefit analysis in its recommendation),” he said.

“Sikapin nating hindi na sana habaan pa ang ECQ dahil malaking dagok ito sa kabuhayan ng mga Pilipino (Let us try not to prolong the ECQ because the lockdown has negative effects on Filipinos),” he added.

“Pero kung patuloy pa rin ang pagtaas ng kaso ng Covid-19, wala tayong choice kundi maghigpit pa rin dahil babagsak naman ang ating health system kapag mapuno pa lalo ang mga ospital at isolation facilities (But if Covid-19 cases continue to rise, we have no choice because our health system will be impacted as hospitals and isolation facilities fill up),” Go said.

The senator emphasized that quarantine measures would be meaningless if people are not disciplined, he added.

“Sumunod tayo sa mga itinakdang health protocols para hindi na magkahawahan at hindi na kailanganin pang pahabain ang ECQ (Let us follow health protocols to prevent infections so that ECQ will not be extended),” Go said.