LIKE businessmen, Metro Manila mayors are ready to bite the bullet and allow their areas to be classified under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) for two weeks, but with an if: the national government has enough resources for adequate ayuda for all those im…

LIKE businessmen, Metro Manila mayors are ready to bite the bullet and allow their areas to be classified under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) for two weeks, but with an if: the national government has enough resources for adequate ayuda for all those impacted, and can reserve 4 million doses of vaccines for them.
“Needless to say, SAP is important to address the concerns of underprivileged families as they will be the ones who will be greatly affected by the ECQ declaration,” Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Abalos said in a statement released to the media before midnight on Wednesday.
In a zoom briefing on Thursday, however, Abalos said mayors are now worried about the quick rise in Delta variant cases, and were set to suggest a stricter protocol of enhanced community quarantine to the IATF.
In a meeting with the 17 Metro Manila mayors late Wednesday, Abalos also revealed that they agreed to the imposition of stricter measures but it “must” be coupled with the allocation of at least 4 million vaccines for NCR. The mayors have committed that they will administer these vaccines during the two-week period.
“To achieve this, the mayors request to open the vaccination to the general population without classification,” Abalos stressed.Delta variant
Three to four weeks ago, Abalos recalled that the growth rate of Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) was at -6 percent.
However, for the past one to two weeks, there is a significant increase in growth rate which is now at 19 percent. Further, the Average Daily Attack Rate (ADAR) in the NCR for the previous three to four weeks is only at 4.69, which is comparatively low as against that of the past one to two weeks which is 5.55.
“As it is, there is now an increase of Covid-19 cases in the NCR. In fact, projections made by health experts show that daily cases may reach up to 11,000 by the end of September 2021 with the assumption that Delta variant of Covid-19 is 60 percent more transmissible and that the Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR) strategy and vaccination performance is status quo,” he added.
The strict enforcement of the PDITR, and the request of at least 4 million vaccines is aimed at protecting the NCR population against the possible spread of the dangerous Delta variant.
“Aggressive contact tracing, massive testing, and strict isolation would then be ramped up to further reduce Covid-19 cases in Metro Manila while waiting for the requested 4 million vaccines from the national government to achieve population protection as early as possible and prevent exponential growth of positive cases from Delta variant,” Abalos added.
The NCR mayors also vowed to meet daily to assess the situation in their respective localities, discuss further course of actions against the Delta threat and recommend collectively to the national government, thru IATF, relevant quarantine restrictions and measures.
They also vowed to conduct intensified monitoring of their constituents compliance with basic health protocols.
“We appeal to the public to avoid complacency and still follow the standard health protocols. Let us not put our guard down,” Abalos said.