Article by:
Roel Amazona
TACLOBAN CITY – Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said he is not keen on imposing a “no vaccination, no entry” or “no vaccination, no ride” policy in the province as an additional measure against the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) Omicron variant.
“The policy has no impact since transmission does not happen in establishments or in public transport, but in homes,” Petilla said in an interview Friday.
He added that there is no need for the province to amend the provincial ordinance on policies that control the spread of Covid-19 infection in the province.
Earlier, the Regional Inter-agency Task Force and the Regional Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases released a joint resolution urging local government units to craft a local law that will limit the movement of unvaccinated individuals.
The resolution encourages the enforcement of “no vaccination, no entry” policy. The policy has been adopted by Samar and Northern Samar provinces.
Petilla said it is up to the local government units to implement the policy, but the impact on the local economy should be carefully considered.
He pointed out that if the goal is to prevent the further spread of Covid-19, there should be stronger enforcement of the minimum health protocols such as the proper wearing of face masks, physical distancing, and frequent handwashing.
Vaccination campaigns must also be strengthened at the local level to allow more people to have access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Booster shots must also be given to those who are fully vaccinated to give them additional protection against variants of the virus.
Last month, the province has experienced a surge of Covid-19 cases with 3,033 cases in four weeks.
Of the total, 2,314 infected individuals are unvaccinated based on the data from the provincial health office.
Since the pandemic broke out, Leyte has recorded 22,051 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 21,189 recoveries, and 119 deaths. There are still 743 active cases as of January 30.
As of January 31, of the 1,682,729 target population in Leyte, some 873,245 have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccines. (PNA)
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