The government should hasten the vaccination of more Filipinos, President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday as he raised concern over the presence of the more transmissible Delta coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) variant.

In his pre-recorded Talk to the People, Duterte admitted that the Delta coronavirus variant is “causing so much scary stories” because it is “more aggressive” than the original variant.

Duterte said the country could not afford to go “back to square one,” in case the Delta Covid-19 variant continues to rise.

“Four times more aggressive. [Its] transmissibility is faster than the usual Covid-19. Nakakatakot nga (It’s indeed scary),” he said. “So the best way really is to double the time in the inoculation of people. Iyan lang talaga ang paraan natin (That’s really the only way).”

The Philippines has so far logged a total of 119 cases of Delta variant.

The Department of Health on Wednesday (DOH) said around 29 of the 119 Delta variant cases detected in the country are unvaccinated against Covid-19.

On the other hand, six of those who have contracted the Delta variant are already fully vaccinated, while seven have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

The vaccination status of 77 Delta variant cases is still being verified, the DOH said.

To date, there are still 12 active cases of Delta variant in the country.

Stay home, unvaccinated individuals told

To prevent the further transmission of the Delta Covid-19 variant in the country, Duterte told Filipinos who have yet to receive the vaccine to stay home.

“Now, ito ngayong ayaw magpabakuna, sinasabi ko sa inyo, huwag kayong lumabas ng bahay kasi ‘pag lumabas kayo ng bahay, sabihin ko sa mga pulis eh ibalik ka doon sa bahay mo (those who do not want to get vaccinated, I am telling you, do not leave your home because if you leave your home, I will tell the police to escort you back to your house). You will be escorted back to your house because you are a walking spreader,” Duterte said.

Duterte said he might also be forced to ask for the passage of a measure punishing a person who is going outside despite not being inoculated against Covid-19.

“We have to come up with a law punishing a guy, a person, who has not been vaccinated and going around. We do not have a law, a punitive action that can be taken against the person who does not have the vaccine and go around, making it dangerous for others to acquire the virus,” he said.

For people who have received the vaccine jabs, Duterte said he has no problem with them going outside since they already have protection from Covid-19.

Duterte said vaccinated individuals can enjoy the privilege of leaving their homes.

“I do not have any qualms about people going out kung bakunado (if you are vaccinated). Eh, what’s the purpose of having a vaccine if you cannot go out? ‘Yung mga bakunado, puwede na kayong magpasyal-pasyal (To the vaccinated people, you can now go to other places),” he said.

Duterte expressed hope that the country would receive more Covid-19 vaccines “in the coming few days” to fight the Delta variant.

The Philippines has so far received a total of 31,360,700 doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

As of July 27, a total of 18,174,405 Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered nationwide. (PNA)