Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria A. Concepcion pitched the deployment of buses for fully vaccinated passengers in Metro Manila to establish a “bubble” for the public transportation system.
In a news statement issued on Thursday, the Go Negosyo founder said that the proposal could aid the working population’s safe mobility amid the pandemic.
“We are looking at deploying buses for fully vaccinated passengers to protect them from getting infected by the unvaccinated ones. With this, our public transportation can actually bridge the gap between homes and workplaces, which will in turn help us create ‘micro-herd immunity’ through the safety provided by these protective bubbles,” Concepcion said.
Concepcion said that building “bubble” in the workplace has been a trend amid the vaccination program rollout.
“In fact, I’m glad to share that most of the factory workers in my company are already vaccinated, and with this, our company actually creates ‘micro-herd immunity’ in their workplaces,” he said.
The proposal is in line with Concepcion’s call for micro-herd immunity, which refers to a close system that achieved 80 percent vaccination rollout already.
Micro-herd immunity, he said, can help the economy recover safely because it will allow more mobility.
Concepcion previously explained that promoting herd immunity in a smaller and controlled environment is feasible because they have implemented health protocols already. It includes offices, factories and commercial spaces.
Earlier, the presidential adviser said the current Covid-19 situation should improve by the fourth quarter to allow easing of mobility restriction and economic rebound.
He explained that the last quarter is the most critical, noting that it will be the last chance this year for the businesses to recoup their losses accumulated over the last months.
Metro Manila is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest form of lockdown measure, until today (August 20), unless otherwise extended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The Department of Trade and Industry said that the number of micro, small and medium enterprises that shut down in pandemic rose to 16 percent during ECQ.