Social distancing, ban on gatherings will be way of life after ECQ
STRICT social-distancing policy and other government measures against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) are expected to persist beyond the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon and last for the next six months or even up to 2021.
This after the Department of Health (DOH) said in a press briefing on Monday that the vaccine for the pandemic disease is not expected to be completed anytime soon.
“It would take about, maybe, six to 12 months. Or maybe one year to a year-and-a-half before the vaccine [for Covid-19] being developed by other countries comes out [in the market],” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said.the World Health Organization (WHO) said three vaccine candidates for Covid-19 are already in the clinical trial phase or are being tested on humans, while 67 similar vaccines are in the pre-clinical phase.
Earlier, President Duterte said business operations and travel are unlikely to normalize even after the government lifts the ECQ in Luzon on April 30, 2020, until a vaccine for Covid-19 is discovered.
Back to basics
WITHOUT the vaccine, Vergeire said the government would rely on non-pharmaceutical measures which have “worked for other countries” in their own campaign against Covid-19, such as physical distancing, avoidance of mass gatherings and frequent washing of hands.
On Tuesday the DOH will be coordinating with local government units to start the mass testing for Covid-19.
Due to still limited testing facilities, Vergeire reiterated that the mass testing will still focus on those with a high risk of being infected by the virus, like those with severe Covid symptoms, the elderly, those who are pregnant and health-care workers.
The government and its accredited partner private medical facilities have a daily testing capacity of less than 3,000.
She noted that once they reach the 8,000 tests per day for Covid samples, they will expand the coverage of the mass testing to also include “frontliners” who have no symptoms.
Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said those who will test positive for Covid but are asymptomatic will be made to stay in the 2,673 quarantine facilities nationwide that were set up by local government units, or the large quarantine centers prepared by the national government.
Data privacy
TO augment government contact tracing efforts for people who may need to undergo testing, the government earlier announced that it will make mandatory the “public disclosure of personal information” of Covid-positive patients.
Contact tracing is the process of looking for the people who have interacted with those infected by a disease like Covid-19.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, however, clarified that the disclosed personal information, which can be used by the DOH and concerned agencies, will still be protected by the Data Privacy Act.
However, he noted Covid-19 patients will be compelled to disclose to the government personal information especially concerning their disease.
“The information will only be used by the Department of Health to craft the right policies and action as well as utilize it for contact tracing,” Nograles said.
He said the DOH has been given by the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases the “delicate task” of harmonizing the provisions of Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and RA 11332 or the Data Privacy Act in the guideline for the “public disclosure” policy.
Samuel P. Medenilla