IN the year-and-a-half of the Covid-19 pandemic, local government officials in Laguna province down to the barangay level – should have already learned the lessons of keeping the virus at bay by this time.
Instead, we may be seeing a repeat of the same mistakes we had seen during the first wave of the pandemic last year.
Sure, some LGUs in the province have accepted the fact that so-called “granular lockdowns” may be the ideal solution to stamping out the current wave, especially in light of the more contagious Delta variant.
But OpinYon Laguna has received reports that some barangays in the province have been lax in implementing the lockdowns.
True, the entry and exit of people inside the lockdown areas are restricted, but what happens inside is another story.
There have been reports of clandestine parties going on inside the lockdown areas, while residents roaming inside the area (who are not APORs) are hardly penalized at all.
That defeats the purpose of lockdowns: ensuring that no person can get out of their houses and cause the spread of the virus easily.
With the lax implementation of health protocols, it’s no wonder that many of our kababayans no longer see the point in following even the most basic of health protocols such as the wearing of face coverings and physical distancing.
“The percentage of adult Filipinos practicing either of these four [health] measures decreased in the past month, with a face shield having the highest fall of 11 percent," a survey conducted last month showed.
With that kind of attitude now pervading among us, don’t be surprised if the surge in Covid-19 cases in our province will continue for weeks to come.