“In your March 23 column, you asked whether the call for a two-week time out to curb the sudden spikes in COVID-19 infection cases will work? Rapid mass testing“The better solution is rapid mass testing accompanied by aggressive contact tracing; that is, return to basics. “In other countries, when there is a surge of infection, there are long lines of people waiting to be tested. An uptick in infection in the Philippines results in check points where motorists, and even those traveling by foot, form long lines to enter other places. “And because other countries were successful in fighting COVID-19 by mass testing and aggressive contact tracing, they are not even enthusiastic about vaccination.

Source: Philippine Star March 24, 2021 16:18 UTC