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MANILA, Philippines – A group of medical experts on Tuesday backed the government’s move to relax social distancing rules in public transportation as they advocate for the strict implementation of the “seven commandments” in all public utility vehicles (USPs). ).
In a statement, the expert panel of physicians, who described themselves as people with diverse backgrounds in public health, epidemiology and infectious diseases, said there is now an “urgent need to revitalize the economy.”
The panel of experts is composed of the former secretaries of the Department of Health Dr. Manuel Dayrit and Dr. Esperanza Cabral, University of the Philippines (UP) -Dean of the School of Public Health of Manila, Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr., Department of Environmental and Occupational Health of UP Manila President Dr. Michael Hernandez, National Working Group against COVID-19 Special Advisor Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, Director of the Cancer Commission of the College of Surgeons of the Philippines Dr. Manuel Francisco Roxas, Banco Foundation de Ojos de Filipinas Founder and Executive Director Dr. Ma. Dominga Padilla and infectious disease specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante.
“However, we cannot rebuild the economy without increasing public transportation capacity, which has been operating at only 20-30 percent of pre-pandemic levels due to understandable fears of outbreaks arising from congested public transportation spaces. “said the panel of experts.
With this, the experts said they posed a “more comprehensive set of recommendations” to members of the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Monday.
Experts advocate such guidelines, or what he called the “seven commandments,” to be “strictly enforced” in all modes of public transportation:
1. Use of suitable face masks
2. Use of face shields
3. Do not talk or eat
4. Adequate ventilation
5. Adequate and frequent disinfection
6. No symptomatic passengers
7. Adequate physical distancing
“By imposing these strict measures, we believe that we can gradually relax the rules of social distancing, to double or even triple our current public transportation capacity, without compromising public health,” the experts said.
It was Monday when the distance of one meter between passengers was reduced at 0.75 meters.
By September 28, the distance will be further reduced to 0.5 meters and then to 0.3 meters by October 12 to allow optimization of the number of passengers.
During the House of Representatives deliberations on the Department of Transportation’s 2021 budget, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade defended the move, saying it “was not a product of knee-jerk reaction, but a product of research.”
The experts also said they would like to engage in further dialogue with the IATF, medical and transportation experts and other stakeholders about their proposal.
“We also encouraged a discussion about the views of other groups on health and other issues, including the general increase in the supply of safe public transportation, such as trains, buses, jeepneys, motorcycle taxis, and Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS), and the use of of other options, such as biking, walking and private transportation, ”the group said.
“We also recommend the full institutionalization of private sector expert consultation to further improve our overall management of the economy and public health,” they added.
The success of its plan, the group said, “is not guaranteed in any way,” as it is based on “proper implementation and compliance with the measures proposed by the relevant government agencies.”
“Fundamentally, it also requires the education of the public, who must take full responsibility for the fulfillment of the seven commandments,” they said. “The success of this plan is also based on ongoing monitoring and data-driven evaluation by public health experts.”
“We are hopeful that, working together, we can implement these public health measures to safely revitalize our country and bring Filipinos back to life.” [ac]
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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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