DUE TO rising COVID-19 infections and the threat of the more transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, it is tempting for the national and local governments to resort to lockdowns. But we all know that lockdowns are economically debilitating.
So what can be done? There are calls for the government to invest more in providing free antigen and RT-PCR (reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction) tests to allow health authorities to properly segregate and isolate those who are sick without disrupting the lives and livelihood of those who are COVID-free.
Declaring another quarantine lockdown could potentially destroy the momentum of the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which represents 99.5 percent of all businesses in the country and employs more than 62 percent of the total labor force.
MSMEs flourished anew and the country’s economy was getting back on track. Another lockdown can have serious and unbearable setbacks on the country’s economic recovery especially on MSMEs whose capital have already been depleted because of the series of quarantine lockdowns.
Many businesses are still barely recovering and have invested everything they have just to recover from almost two years of financial hemorrhage. The government should 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.
Instead of resorting to sweeping community quarantines, the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) could manage the COVID-19 problem through massive vaccination, mass testing, and effective contact tracing. Although the government has already achieved great success in its mass vaccination program, it has yet to be equipped with an effective surveillance mechanism which can be only done through mass testing and proper contact tracing.
There’s a suggestion that aside from vaccination sites, the government should also create facilities for mass testing, one for antigen and another for RT-PCR tests. Those who are found positive in the antigen tests may be the only ones who are subjected to RT-PCR as confirmatory tests. Those who are found positive in the antigen can have the option to avail themselves of the government’s quarantine facilities while waiting for the result of their RT-PCR.
The government, which has already incurred P6 Trillion in external debts in just two years, has been spending billions in its vaccination program and billions more in direct financial aid but has barely made any allocation for mass testing and the country’s contact tracing system is still very Jurassic.
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.
