MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hopes for a smooth resumption of face-to-face or in-person sessions later this month, adding that it will help the economy recover from the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.
In his weekly vlog, which was posted on Saturday, Marcos urged local government units (LGUs) to be more aggressive in their Covid-19 vaccination and booster efforts in order to safeguard the safety of everyone, particularly students, when the Academic Year 2022-2023 begins on August 22.
According to government data, 15.9 million Filipinos have received their initial Covid-19 booster shots, with over 1.2 million receiving their second doses.
Marcos confessed that the administration is still far from meeting its goal of administering at least 23 million Covid-19 booster doses in his first 100 days in office.
“We will never tire of urging our local governments to be more vigorous in this fight,” he said.
He admitted that getting more Filipinos to obtain Covid-19 jabs and booster shots is difficult, but it is critical for reopening more industries.
“It may not be that simple, but if we prepare properly, I am confident this will be a success,” he continued.
According to Marcos, the return of in-person lessons will stimulate economic activity in enterprises such as school supply stores, the retail industry, and the like, as well as in public transportation.
Parents will also be able to return to work while their children are in school, resulting in an increase in the workforce.
“If this is effective, it will imply not only the return of classes, but also the return of business, livelihood, and economic progress.” This would be extremely beneficial to our efforts to revive the economy,” he said.
Marcos urged industry to continue implementing minimal public health standards in order to avoid an increase in Covid-19 instances.
“A lot of industries will participate and benefit from this move,” he added, “so we need to make sure everyone is ready.”
On August 1, Marcos personally visited a vaccination facility in Pasig to observe and encourage more people to get primary and booster doses.
“The vaccine is our only line of protection against this.” Let us not wait for the number of cases to rise and make it difficult for us to go to work or leave our homes),” he urged in his speech.
Source: Phillipines News Agency
