The private sector is asking the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to begin crafting an “exit plan” for the pandemic in a bid to spur economic recovery.
In a joint statement, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria A. Concepcion and OCTA Research fellow Nicanor Austriaco cited suggestions that can help the country have forward-looking initiatives for the sake of the economy.
“It is time for the national government to transition our people from a pandemic to an endemic mindset,” they said.
Essentially, both parties want the government to open up the economy by easing and simplifying travel restrictions. Doing so, they said, can bode well, especially for the micro, small and medium enterprises.
Concepcion and Austriaco also called for the reinstatement of the prior international travel protocols.
These include pre-departure testing within 24 hours of departure using either an RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription—Polymerase Chain Reaction) or rapid antigen test, with additional PCR-based test upon arrival; three-day quarantine; and arrival testing on the third day of quarantine, with exit permitted upon showing a negative result.
They noted these protocols were already in place but were put on hold following the emergence of Covid-19 Omicron variant that led to more infections recently.
“At this time, the Omicron surge has peaked in the NCR [National Capital Region] and is expected to peak in the different regions of the country in the next two weeks,” they said. “In its wake, this surge will confer significant population protection throughout the archipelago.”
Concepcion and Austriaco are urging for easing of travel restrictions given the Philippines, along with Myanmar and Japan, is the strictest among the Asian countries.
“The rest have either lifted curfews and stay-at-home orders, opened their borders to non-citizens and non-residents, and have allowed all or most commercial flights to the country,” Concepcion said.
He said that requiring home quarantines instead of facility-based isolations will also help in easing travel restrictions without compromising safety.
Concepcion also suggested “re-allocating resources used in facility quarantines to more intensive surveillance of positive Covid-19 cases among arriving passengers as this would generate more useful data in guiding future policy.”
“The next few months will be critical in how the country will move on from the pandemic,” Concepcion said. “I believe the government should set an example and start opening the country to the world. This will instill confidence in the vaccines and encourage more of our countrymen to take them.”