BINUHAY ng National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 at Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) ang crisis action plan para epektibong mapigilan at mabawasan ang “highly transmissible COVID-19 strains,” gaya ng Delta variant, habang ang National Capital Region at iba pang lugar ay nasa ilalim ng lockdown.
“Our Crisis Action Plan’s mission shall be the implementation of contingency operations in preparation for and response to an exponential increase in COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases due to the emergence of new variants at the national level,” ayon kay NTF chief implementer at vaccine czar, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.
“These contingency operations are implemented to defer and respond to the threat posed by “new COVID-19 variants of concern,” dagdag na pahayag nito.
Ang crisis action plan ay nakahanay sa National Action Plan Phase 4 at nakatuon na mapahusay ang implementasyon ng Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate, plus Vaccinate (PDITR+V) strategy, at maging ng four-door strategy ng stricter border control, heightened surveillance, quick response, at focus at pagpapalawig sa mass vaccination.
“As we speak, and even as the variants of concern, such as the Delta variant, were being discovered, the NTF and IATF have already been taking actions. Many of these are preparations for the implementation of contingency measures,” ayon naman kay Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Ani Vergeire, ang maagang implementasyon ng four-door strategy, partikular na ang Door 1 (point of origin) at Door 2 (point of entry) ay nagpaantala sa pagpasok ng Delta variant.
Ang hakbang gaya ng travel bans at restrictions, at maging ng screening, quarantine, at testing sa point of entry, ay nagawang i-minimize o mabawasan ang pagpasok at pagkalat ng Delta variant.
“Now that the country has detected local cases of the Delta variant, Doors 3 and 4 are being activated. Door 3 would involve strengthening the implementation of the PDITR strategies to prevent further local transmission, while Door 4 will prepare and ensure that our health care capacity is ready for a wide-scale community transmission by enhancing our PDITR+ strategies,” dagdag na pahayag ni Vergeire. (CHRISTIAN DALE)
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