Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion is asking the national government to reconsider trimming down the alert level system as the country bids to reopen the economy further.
Concepcion cited that cases significantly declined in the national capital region and therefore qualified to be deescalated to alert level 1.
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“We have been ravaged by this pandemic a lot, MSMEs have been hurt by this pandemic. We have to open up. We have to open up everything so business can prosper and people can do better in life,” he told ABS-CBN News.
“Six months, 8 months, or a year from now we don’t know if there will be another virus that is maybe more be more contagious, but the alert level system is there. We can bring it back once we see the threat. My only suggestion is maybe we can trim it down. Instead of alert level 1 to 5 maybe we can trim it down to alert level 1 to 3,” he added.
Concepcion however clarified that alert levels will be retained in case of another surge.
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“We need a mindset change. While the fear that a new variant will come, let’s not anticipate it and assume it’s going to come. With the alert system at bay, then you have a minimum health protocol. If there is no storm, why create a storm signal number 1 or 2?,” he said.
Concepcion also pushes for booster shots to become a requirement in establishments with high vaccination rates.
