THE country may forgo the use of the Alert Level System (ALS) in curbing the Covid-19 infection by March as the recent Omicron variant has resulted in milder cases, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria A. Concepcion said.
What the government should further implement instead is minimum health protocols to avoid the spread of the virus, the Go Negosyo founder said during a Laging Handa briefing on Monday.
“By March, eventually, we can remove all these alert levels and just come up with…basic minimum health standard protocols moving forward. We are seeing that this alert level 1 is possible towards the end of February, March,” he said.
Metro Manila, along with Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal, Batanes, Biliran, Southern Leyte and Basilan, is under more relaxed Alert Level 2 (previously Alert Level 3) from February 1-15.
Under ALS, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) outlines the quarantine measures, depending on the level of infection in certain areas. Among these are the allowed operating capacity, activities and establishments for a specific period.
“We have to realize that we have to move on. Omicron, in a way, is the variant that is allowing us to do it,” he said. He said that most of the Covid-19 Omicron cases were “very mild,” especially if the infected individuals are vaccinated.
Concepcion explained that granular lockdowns may not even be needed anymore as the cases only require self-quarantine to recover, which alleviates the pressure on hospital capacity. In addition, he said consumers are more aware now about the health and safety protocols when going out, which can help in curbing the infection.
The establishments like retail stores and restaurants, he said, likewise have “understood the basic minimum requirements” for operations given the practice in the last 22 months.
As such, Concepcion reminded the public to strictly adhere to health and safety measures moving forward. “Let’s not be complacent,” he said.
Meanwhile, Concepcion said that several private sector groups will be meeting in three weeks to develop an “exit plan,” which is essentially a forward-looking strategy to foster economic recovery amid the pandemic.
“We will craft a plan on how each sector can develop their exit plan. The idea, eventually, is to reach a point wherein there is no more alert level,” he said.
Last week, Concepcion and OCTA Research fellow Nicanor Austriaco appealed to IATF to begin crafting such an exit plan.
“It is time for the national government to transition our people from a pandemic to an endemic mindset,” they said in an earlier statement.
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 (MSMEs).
Moving forward, the presidential adviser also urged the banking sector to continue lending to MSMEs, tourism-related establishments and even bigger companies to finance their recovery efforts.
“We have four months left until the next administration comes in, May, June. We want to turn over the economy in a healthy state and not be sick with Covid,” Concepcion concluded.
ECCP backs AL scuttling
European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) President Lars Wittig, in a briefing on Monday, agreed that the Philippines may opt not to use ALS anymore.
“That is a trend that we see globally,” he said. “If Omicron is sort of like the last hurrah for Covid, the [alert levels] are obsolete.”
Meanwhile, Wittig called anew for the passage of the bill amending the Public Services Act as it will bring in “billions of dollars in incremental investments” for the country. The ECCP official also asked the incoming administration to focus on curbing corruption, passing reforms that will boost agriculture output and implementing measures highlighting nutrition.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes