MANILA -- The National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases have activated a Crisis Action Plan to ensure the more effective containment and mitigation of highly-transmissible COVID-19 strains such as the Delta variant as the National Capital Region and other areas in the country are placed under lockdown.

“Our Crisis Action Plan’s mission shall be the implementation of contingency operations in preparation for and response to an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases due to the emergence of new variants at the national level,” NTF Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr said on Thursday, August 5.

“These contingency operations are implemented to defer, and respond to the threat posed by new COVID-19 variants of concern,” Galvez added.

The Crisis Action Plan is aligned with the National Action Plan Phase IV and focuses on the enhanced implementation of the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate, plus Vaccinate (PDITR+V) strategy as well as the Four Door Strategy of Stricter Border Control, Heightened Surveillance, Quick Response, and Focus and Expand Mass Vaccination.

“As we speak, and even as the variants of concern such as the Delta variant were being discovered, the NTF and IATF have already been taking actions. Many of these are preparations for the implementation of contingency measures,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

According to Vergeire, the early implementation of the Four Door strategy, specifically Door 1 (point of origin) and Door 2 (point of entry), has allowed the “delay” in the entry of the Delta variant.

Measures such as travel bans and restrictions as well as screening, quarantine, and testing at the point of entry were able to minimize the entry and spread of the Delta variant.

“Now that the country has detected local cases of the Delta variant, Doors 3 and 4 are being activated. Door 3 would involve strengthening the implementation of the PDITR strategies to prevent further local transmission, while Door 4 will prepare and ensure that our healthcare capacity is ready for a wide-scale community transmission by enhancing our PDITR+ strategies,” Vergeire added.

Restructuring to intensify response efforts

Galvez said that the formulation of the said action plan also involved restructuring the NTF so that there will be greater synergy between policy and operations.

While the initial operational setup of the task force involved only three clusters – vaccine, response, and recovery – it has been expanded to include the response cluster with Communities, Health Facilities, and Borders sub-clusters to activate community-level2 response efforts, increase healthcare capacities and create buffer supplies in all levels, while strengthening external and internal borders.

“The restructuring of our operational setup is aligned with the Four Door strategy and part of our preemptive measures against the Delta variant. This allows us to intensify our response efforts and be more coherent in the delivery of services as we anticipate an increase in cases caused by the Delta or any variants of concern,” Galvez explained.

He said that corresponding measures are being carried out by the different NTF clusters and sub-clusters as each door is being activated.

Strict border control through travel restrictions, monitoring of all points of entry, and minimized interzonal and intrazonal movement has been implemented since Door 1 was activated.

Meanwhile, heightened surveillance is being carried out during the activation of  Door 2. This includes active case finding, securing the capacity of all laboratories nationwide as well as building capacities for whole genome sequencing through satellite centers.

As the government activates Doors 3 and 4, the task force is now capable of carrying out a quick response at all levels through different Emergency Operations Centers and One Hospital Command Centers at the national and regional levels.

“In this manner, we are able to focus on not just minimizing the entry but also in mitigating the possible effects of widespread community transmission. We need to anticipate all possible scenarios and prepare for the worst because we cannot just wait for our healthcare workers and our healthcare system to get overwhelmed,” Galvez said.

The vaccine czar underscored that the vaccination program will continue as part of the interventions in managing the highly transmissible variants of COVID 19.

“We are restrategizing our implementation as well as our vaccine supply allocation in order to be ready in the event of an uptick in cases. This will ensure that vaccines will be given to those who need them the most and those who are highly vulnerable to the disease and death,” he said.

Galvez said that contingency plans are being put in place in different vaccination sites as well as for healthcare workers nationwide, as hospitals are not allowed to administer vaccinations onsite for the time being.

Likewise, Quick Response Teams are also being organized for ring vaccination in areas under lockdown.

“We are also carefully assessing our vaccine inventory to ensure the allocation for the second dose as well as to prioritize the deployment of supplies for the highly vulnerable sectors in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,” said Galvez.

According to the chief implementer, the Recovery Cluster led by the National Economic and Development Authority is focused on ensuring that the delivery of essential government services remains uninterrupted, as well as preparing for the social and economic recovery of the country once the stringent quarantine measures are lifted.  (National Task Force against COVID-19)