Nat’l Action Plan 5 focuses on economic recovery

MANILA – The government will focus its strategies on reviving the economy hard hit Covid-19 pandemic with its latest phase of the national action plan (NAP 5), acting presidential spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Wednesday.

“Ang focus natin dito would be on the economic recovery, kumbaga pagbalik ng kabuhayan ng ating mga kababayan in light of itong pinaka-latest na variant na Omicron na ito iyong predominant variant natin dito sa buong bansa (Our focus here would be on the economic recovery, it’s like bringing back the livelihood of our countrymen in the light of the latest Omicron variant that is now predominant variant in the country),” Nograles said in an interview over the Radyo Pilipinas.

The government will ramp up the administration of Covid-19 primary doses and booster shots to 90 million adult Filipinos by June, including the expansion of the pediatric vaccination.

“Dapat mas marami po ang makakapaghanapbuhay na, mas marami ang employment, ma-promote natin ang job promotion, investment, catch-up plan natin para sa economy (There should be more jobs, more employment so we can push job promotion, investment, that’s our catch-up plan for the economy),” Nograles said.

He added the government will also improve the healthcare system by expanding the reach of home-based care or telemedicine consultation, and will further update plans on the procurement of Covid-19 treatment medicines.

Aside from scaling up vaccination, Nograles said anti-viral treatment or medicines will also be available.

Nograles said the different clusters of the Inter-agency Task Force for Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases are now the most updated version of the NAP, which includes shifts in protocols and policies to dealing with Covid-19.

The NAP’S overall goal is to eliminate the threat of the Covid-19 to protect people from the risks of infections as well as to mitigate the social, economic, and security impacts of the health crisis. ■