Ni NOEL ABUEL
Iginiit ng isang kongresista sa pamahalaan na mag-invest sa mass testing at contract tracing sa halip na palutangin ang panibagong pagpapatupad ng lockdown sa ilang bahagi ng bansa.
Ayon kay Ang Probinsyano party list Rep. Ronnie Ong, dapat na ipairal ng pamahalaan ang pagbibigay ng libreng antigen at RT-PRC tests upang makatulong sa mga health workers na agad na mailayo at ma-isolate ang magpopositibo sa COVID-19 virus habang ang mga magnenegatibo naman ay hindi dapat maapektuhan ang hanapbuhay.
Paliwanag pa ni Ong na walang maidududulot na mabuti ang panibagong pagdedeklara ng quarantine lockdown sa Metro Manila at sa ibang karatig lalawigan nito at sisira sa pagbagon ng mga micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Sinabi pa nito na 99.5 porsiyento ng lahat ng negosyo sa bansa ay MSMEs at nagbibigay ng trabaho sa 62 porsiyento ng kabuuang labor force ng bansa.
“Many businesses are still barely recovering and have invested everything they have just to recover from almost 2 years of financial hemorrhage. I just wish that government should also look at their plight and support them by providing free antigen and RT-PCR tests to all. Let us not disrupt the people who are Covid-free by providing free and periodic mass testing,” paliwanag ni Ong.
Idinagdag pa ng mambabatasa na sa halip na igiiit muli ang community quarantines ng Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) dapat na unahin nito ang malawakang pagbabakuna, mass testing, at epektibong contact tracing.
“Our economic recovery will be disrupted if we continue resorting to lockdowns every time that we have a surge. We should already accept that Covid will not easily go away and government policies should be directed towards proper and effective surveillance. Instead of spending hundreds of billions for ayuda as a result of lockdowns, the government should invest in mass testing and contact tracing. These lockdowns do not only destroy our country’s economy. It also destroys the lives of many small businessmen and their employees,” giit pa ni Ong.
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