Butch Ong of the OCTA Research Team stressed the importance of the strict implementation of minimum health standard as the government will allow cinema, arcades and other leisure facilities in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting Monday.

"What we need is to follow the minimum health standards especially the venue or facility managers, the companies. There is a need for much stricter promotion and implementation of minimum health standards," Ong said in a public briefing on Saturday.

On Feb. 12, the government also allowed the opening of driving schools; libraries, archives, museums, and cultural centers; meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions; theme parks and tourist attractions.

"We are slightly steady since the start of January. And to decide now to open commerce and industry, we must be more vigilant maybe we must strictly implement standards set by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force)," he said.

"Now, we are in a precarious balance so the number of cases may increase or decrease depending on how we perform or how we implement the minimum health standards," he added.

Ong noted that "the worst is not yet over" but the government is starting to arm its people better against COVID-19.

"We must be vigilant. The virus mutates very frequently. Before we had two variants that enter the Philippines and the worst is not yet over, I think, but we are beginning to arm ourselves better," he said.

"The government is doing its job to arm ourselves better with the incoming influx of the vaccine very soon, the improvement of the health care capacity, the improvement of the testing capacity," he added. Robina Asido/DMS