Preventing another Covid-19 outbreak
The country’s Covid cases surged 30 percent on Tuesday, eliciting fears that Alert Level 2 will be imposed anew in Metro Manila where almost half of the 386 new infections were reported. Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said that higher alert levels may not be necessary if hospitalization rates remain low. “If our Covid cases are not ending up in hospitals, then there is no need for higher alert levels,” he said. (Read, “Concepcion:
No need to adjust AL at low hospitalization rates,” in the Businessmirror, June 14, 2022).
Infectious diseases expert Dr. Edsel Salvaña, who is also a member of the government’s Technical Advisory Group, asked people to stay calm following reports about the increase in cases in Metro Manila. He posted on Facebook: “Don’t look at the percentages, look at the numbers. A 100 percent increase from a baseline of 100 cases is only 200 cases. Remember, we’ve seen over 35,000 cases in a day in the past. It’s very unlikely we will have to escalate to Alert Level 2 as long as hospital capacity remains good.”
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also allayed fears that Metro Manila will see a higher alert level during the Laging Handa Public Briefing on Monday. “Let us not look at the number of cases, we need to look at the hospital capacity because this is more important to our health-care system,” she said.
Current ICU rates are at a low 20 percent, and health-care utilization rate is at 16.6 percent for the entire Philippines.
In April, the World Health Organization warned that a surge in Covid cases is quite likely in the country with unsafe gatherings and social mixing expected in election-related activities. “Everyone should at least wear a mask and get booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines, as prescribed by the government, to prepare for and possibly avoid a potential surge,” said Dr. Rajendra Yadav, acting WHO Representative to the Philippines.
Thanks to the helpful voting guidelines set by Comelec to ensure the safety of voters, and the willingness of the public to cooperate by wearing their face mask and face shield in voting areas, the feared surge in cases did not happen.
Recently, the face mask, which helped prevent the spread of the virus in the country, has become the center of controversy. This came about after Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia issued Executive Order No. 16 allowing the optional wearing of face mask in well ventilated and open spaces. The Department of the Interior and Local Government said the EO violates the policy of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, which was approved by President Duterte, requiring the wearing of face masks at all times except when eating or during certain well-ventilated activities.
In a TV interview on Monday, Interior Undersecretary Epimaco V. Densing said the Cebu provincial government will be facing a show-cause order from the DILG if it continues to defy national government policy for wearing of face masks. “When I reviewed the EO, it has some areas which are not in line with the national government policies like encouraging people to wear face masks in crowded places. It should not be encouraged, but must be mandatory in crowded areas since people are close to one another,” Densing said. (Read, “Cebu LGU faces show-cause order over no-mask fiat,” in the Businessmirror, June 13, 2022).
The national bureaucracy must not control affairs tinged with local interests. And we understand the desire of local government leaders to ease pandemic restrictions. Although national cases are going down, the virus is still very much around. We must not lower our guards. Face masks are effective tools in preventing the spread of Covid. If we allow one province to go without masks, will other provinces be far behind? The whole Philippines cannot be safe if there’s a Covid flareup in just one of the country’s 42,000 barangays.