UMAPELA si House committee on ways and means chairman Joey Salceda sa Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases na ibalik sa Enhanced Community Quarantine ang Albay.
Ayon kay Salceda ito rin ang apela ng Albay chapter ng League of Municipalities at Philippine Councilors League (PCL) at konseho ng Legazpi City at bayan ng Daraga.
“The DOH can verify this if they want to, but based on our estimates, Albay’s R0 is approaching 2 again. In practical terms, that means we are back to our risk levels from mid-April. Of course, we want to return to normal, but there’s little evidence that we should, and we want to get this right,” ani Salceda.
Sa 50 kaso ng coronavirus disease 2019 sa Bicol, 28 umano ang nasa Albay.
“Sad to say, we are the infection cluster in Bicol. So, if you want to prevent further transmissions in the region, you have to defeat the virus here.”
“The people won’t instantly have the means to support themselves, but with this drastic change, Albay will lose access to the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) and we need to settle our bills and our loans. To think about economics and epidemiology along provincial boundaries, as if everything goes back to normal with one stroke of the pen, I think is not a very prudent policy to take,” dagdag pa ni Salceda. “We hope the IATF will reconsider the appeal of the mayors and the councilors of Albay. All 18 mayors were unanimous in appealing for the extension of ECQ.”