The BBM-Sara UniTeam on Saturday asked its supporters to postpone the scheduled Unity caravans in Metro Manila amid concerns about a potential resurgence of new COVID-19 cases due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
The Palace on Friday announced that the IATF has decided to place Metro Manila under Alert Level 3 from Jan. 3 to 15 after an exponential spike in new Covid19 cases.
In response, presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. and his running-mate Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte advised their supporters who are set to hold a unity caravan in Caloocan City on Jan. 2 to push back their event to a later date so as not to compromise the safety of the participants.
“The safety of everyone is of paramount importance to us. That is why we are advising all our supporters to exercise self-restraint in their political mobilization plans in compliance with the IATF decision. We are also appealing to our supporters to suspend mass gatherings and obey the guidelines under the Alert level 3,” the UniTeam said, in a statement.
The BBM-Sara UniTeam also appealed to the public to be vigilant as the threat of the Omicron variant looms.
“We are urging our fellowmen not to let their guards down and instead be vigilant. Now is not the time to be complacent. Let’s follow the IATF’s guidelines to ensure that we all remain safe,” the UniTeam added.
The Philippines has had four confirmed cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The UniTeam also encouraged the unvaccinated to get the jabs at the soonest possible time.
“We are also urging everyone to get vaccinated and for those eligible for booster shots to get it ASAP. Vaccines are the only sure way to protect oneself against hospitalization or death from the variants that are cropping up,” the UniTeam added.
Under Alert Level 3, cinemas and other businesses will only operate at 30% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated persons and 50% outdoor venue capacity; while some activities considered to be ‘high-risk’ for transmission will not be allowed like face to face classes in primary education, contact sports, amusement parks, casinos, horse-racking, cockfighting, and gathering of individuals not from the same household.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said recently that the Delta and Omicron variants were responsible for the ‘tsunami’ of new coronavirus cases.
WHO also encouraged governments to ramp up vaccination coverage and prevent healthcare systems’ collapse in highly vulnerable countries.
