Covid-19’s second wave coming; keep calm, start preparations

JUST as when the Philippines seems to be getting a handle on the pandemic, a second wave is threatening countries in the northern hemisphere. As we had said before in this space, the arrival of autumn has brought with it the cooler temperatures and a new season of the regular influenza, which health experts fear will complicate the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid- 19).

In the US, more than 20 states broke record highs in their average case counts in the past month, according to an Oct. 14, 2020 report in the Washington Post. In europe, most countries are reporting more cases compared to the first wave earlier this year, euronews reported also on October 14. Two days before that, the World health Organization ( WhO) said global cases rose 10 percent from the previous week. All WhO regions, except for Southeast Asia, reported increasing percentages.

In the Philippines, the number of cases has flattened. And at the time of this writing, local cases had even fallen below those of Indonesia, which has the most cases in the region now.

In fact, Filipinos were beginning to breathe easier. Lockdowns were relaxed and more places were again accessible. It could not have happened sooner, as people are hurting from virus fatigue. But it may be premature to let our guard down, given the new global trends. That should remind us that the pandemic is only half over, and the second act is just beginning.

Local health experts and others in government should recall the situation in the first quarter. Cases were spiking in other places, like China and Italy, before Covid-19 broke out here. This time around, we should be more careful about keeping more cases out. There should be a review of foreign travel policies, quarantine protocols and contact-tracing systems to make them more effective.

On the positive side, the Philippines has quarantine facilities ready. People are more familiar with the symptoms and can easily spot new cases. Also, wearing masks, even face shields, is generally accepted here and not politicized.

On testing, however, there is much room for improvement. First, test results still take days, sometimes more than a week, to get. That is simply too long, making contact-tracing and containment more difficult. Health authorities should look at other testing methods, such as those that use saliva samples rather than nasal swabs.

Second, there are fewer tests now after the Philippine red Cross suspended its testing operations because it has not been paid by the graft tainted Philippine health Insurance Corp. That should be resolved soon. And third, the cost needs to come down so that even more people can be tested, if needed.

Distancing in Christmas

Surely, nobody wants a repeat of the hard lockdown. But to be pragmatic, all options should be considered. As we have often heard, the appropriate action depends on the science.

Preventing lockdowns may require changing the way Filipinos celebrate Yuletide. First off, we support extending the operating hours of shopping malls to help control the number of people going there. Of course, the mall operators and retail outlets should continue limiting the number of patrons that they allow in their establishments.

For sure, Christmas parties and other types of mass gathering should be discouraged, if not prohibited even if local cases continue to fall. In fact, Filipino families should consider putting off get- togethers until Christmas in 2021. Virtual get- togethers are advisable.

These suggestions may seem drastic. But these are unusual times. We urge people to continue maintaining physical distancing. If it is still not yet evident to some, a vaccine will not be available by this year.

On a positive note, a few therapeutics look promising. More of them should be available soon as doctors learn more about this coronavirus, but as expected, they are expensive. Also, the number of severe cases remains manageable, and as far we know, Covid-19 has not mutated into a more virulent pathogen. Still, check your inventory of personal protective equipment or PPe.

We should not lament these hard times. Instead, count your blessings. Celebrate your life and good health and wish others the same.