House Minority Leader Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. on Monday urged the national government to study the implementation of “drastic measures” to prevent a full-blown COVID-19 outbreak in Metro Manila after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed new cases of COVID-19 infections.
“At this point, all options should be on the table given that the National Capital Region (NCR) is the most densely populated area in the country,” said Abante, who represents the 6th District of Manila.
“Outbreaks of disease are more frequent and more severe when the population density is high.”
Metro Manila, the solon pointed out, has a total population of just over 12.8 million people and a population density of 21,000 residents per square kilometer.
The legislator stressed that the World Health Organization (WHO) has noted that “overcrowding is one of the major factors in the transmission of diseases with epidemic potential such as acute respiratory infections.”
“It also says that outbreaks of disease are more frequent and more severe when the population density is high—which happens to be the case in Metro Manila, particularly my district.”
According to Abante, the government should consider moving up the school calendar in NCR so that students begin summer vacation early.
Government and private offices should also study work from home arrangements and the use of skeletal staffing patterns to minimize person-to-person contact.
The lawmaker said the President’s declaration of a state of public health emergency “is a step in the right direction and should compel everyone to take the necessary precautions to help contain the virus.”
“This will be a challenging period for everyone. Let’s set aside all politics and focus on stopping the spread of this disease. Walang majority, walang minority, walang admin, walang opposition. Magtulungan tayo, wag tayo magturuan.” (No majority, no minority, no admin, no opposition. Let us help each other)