Unmanaged giving of ‘ayuda’ could be super spreader
AN official of the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday appealed to the local government units (LGUS) to make sure that the giving out of cash assistance will not be a “super spreader” event.
As LGUS once again are distributing national government’s assistance, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire warned of the possibility that long queues of people leaving their homes to receive cash assistance will end up as a super spreader event.
Although during the online press briefing of the DOH, Vergeire mentioned “bakuna,” a member of the communication team of the DOH clarified that the DOH spokesperson was referring to “ayuda.”
The DOH described super spreading events as events where the “transmission of the virus is suddenly amplified, that is, a single person transmits the virus to a disproportionately large number of contacts.”
In a radio interview earlier, Vice President Leni Robredo said that local officials should learn their lesson already from the previous experience.
She said there should be a system that should be followed in the distribution of the cash assistance.
She observed based on the photos and videos circulating in social media that some of the people lining up are not wearing masks or face shield and physical distancing was hardly being observed.
Several radio reports had said in some barangays, hundreds of people were lining up at dawn just to be the first to get their aid, and sometimes the crowds become unruly especially when they have been exposed to the elements for hours.