SENATE President Vicente Sotto III on Friday backed the recommendation of Metro Manila mayors to stop all outdoor activities for children five years and above.

Sotto said keeping children indoors would greatly lessen the number of people in public spaces, thus slowing down the transmission of the new coronavirus.

“Maraming pwedeng gawin para panatilihin ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan. Let us be pro-active. Huwag na nating ulitin ang ating mga pagkakamali noong nag-uumpisa pa lamang ang pandemic dito sa ating bansa. Kumilos na tayo habang maaga pa, habang wala pang surge. The time to act is now,” Sotto said.

He urged the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to adopt measures to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of Covid19.

Sotto said policymakers and health experts must be ready in case a surge occurs.

“Handa na ba ang ating gobyerno kung sakaling magkaroon ng surge ng Covid19 cases na dulot ng Delta variant? May mga nakahanda na bang response measures? Handa ba ang ating mga healthcare facilities at workers sa pangyayaring ito? Mahalagang maramdaman ng ating mga kababayan na kumikilos ang kanilang mga lider para siguruhin ang kanilang kaligtasan,” the Senate chief said.

Sotto suggested the reimposition of stringent restrictions such as banning mass gatherings, which could turn into superspreader events.

“Pwede naman pong GCQ or general community quarantine ang ating classification pero maghigpit tayo sa mga mass gatherings. Aminado po akong mahalagang ituloy natin ang economic recovery ng ating bansa, but it is equally important to make sure that our people are safe from the virus. The publlic’s good health should be the ultimate target when coming up with response measures,” he said.