‘Kill the veerus’

Just two days ago, the Philippines breached the 200-mark of cases of people infected with the dreaded coronavirus 2019, or COVID-19 for short. As of press time yesterday, there were 15 more new cases of infected individuals that brought the total number of COVID-19 cases to 217.

And we are just on Day 4 when the Luzon-wide home quarantine took effect on orders of President Rodrigo Duterte in the government’s bid to slow down, if not totally stop the continuing spread of the COVID-19 contagion. For this purpose, President Duterte signed Proclamation 922 on March 8 to expand the community quarantine originally placed all over the 16 cities and one municipality in Metro Manila to imposing home quarantine to all residents of the entire Luzon island.

Proclamation 922 also placed the entire Philippines under a “State of Public Health Emergency” following the spike in COVID-19 cases that doubled over night from a total of 64 to 111 the next day while fatalities rose to eight. To further heighten the urgency. President Duterte subsequently placed the entire country under a State of Public Calamity in Proclamation 923.

These measures were implemented based on the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases chaired by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Dr. Francisco Duque III. As we grapple with the spiraling cases of confirmed COVID-19 infection, Duque would unfortunately had to undergo self-quarantine since Wednesday.

Duque got infected after “close contact” with a 60-year-old senior DOH director who turned out positive on COVID-19 infection. The 63-year-old Duque is awaiting the results of his COVID-19 infection test. Since he has pre-existing hypertension and asthma, Duque admitted, he has to take precautions for his own state of health. For now, he is asymptomatic, or showing no signs of symptoms like fever or any other manifestation of COVID-19 infection.

Duque is now part of the government statistics on the persons under monitoring (PUMs), or those without symptoms but travelled to a country with local transmission and got exposed to an infected person. This is to differentiate the PUIs, or persons under investigation that pertains to those with symptoms, travel history to a country with local transmission and exposure to infected persons. 

As of noon yesterday, there were 4,929 PUMs and 380 PUIs in the watch list of the DOH. So far, 655 tested negative while 217 others confirmed positive with COVID infection. There are 298 cases, including Duque, still awaiting COVID-19 test results since obviously there are not enough testing kits here. But all of these PUMs and PUIs could become potential COVID-19 carriers. Hopefully, we pray they turn out eventually as negative of infection. Our country has recorded 17 dead and 8 recovered so far.

An affiliate of The Philippine Star, Interaksyon reported that our own Filipino scientists have developed analyses on the importance of controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic, or “flattening the curve” of COVID-19 cases in our country. Epidemiologists, or the experts in the study of infectious diseases, coined the term “flatten the curve,” which they defined as a general concept of slowing down the transmissions or the spread of the deadly virus.

The phrase has lately become popular not only here in our country but for the rest of the world plagued by this pandemic disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) elevated COVID-19 from public health emergency of international concern to the level of pandemic because there are now more than 114 countries where the contagion has spread.

One of the Filipino scientists Mahar Lagmay shared in the social media a short explainer video about it last March 13. In the video clip, Interaksyon further reported, “it was shown that the curve is a component in the graph that represents the number of individuals afflicted with COVID-19 at a period of time. This was compared with the permanent line that represents capacity of hospitals and health care centers to accept patients. Its goal is not to stop the transmissions altogether but to slow it down at a manageable pace for the medical sector to handle.”

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a tele-conference beamed from the DOH to Malacanang press room placed a rough estimate of about 75,000 new coronavirus cases in the Philippines within two to three months if the spread of COVID-19 is not contained. Vergeire, however, remains hopeful our country could still “flatten the curve” if only the “stringent” quarantine measures being enforced by the government are strictly followed by the people.

According to the same Interaksyon report, another Filipino scientist Darwin Bandoy, from the University of the Philippines, predicted that the curve of COVID-19 in the country would peak at 244,628 cases this coming June should the government fail to slow it down. Badoy also shared a graph of it last March 15. In the caption, he said: “Let’s flatten the curve!”

If our Health Secretary is vulnerable to COVID-19 like any one of us, much more so to 74-year-old President Duterte. He also has pre-existing medical condition that can complicate his state of health. Incidentally, the President is turning a year older this March 28.

But this does not stop the Davao City Mayor from carrying the “whole nation” battle against COVID-19. Without any facemask and his ubiquitous ionizer hanging from his neck, President Duterte went early dawn last Tuesday to inspect the Valenzuela City-Meycauyan COVID-19 police checkpoint.

Will someone tell the President being a fatalist does not make him a good model for government’s all out campaign to make Filipinos comply with protecting ourselves from spreading COVID-19 infection.

In fatherly talk with those stranded at the checkpoint, President Duterte appealed to them to heed the home quarantine for their own protection and to help stop the spread of the contagion. “Together we can beat COVID-19. Together we heal as one,” the President declared. To quote the President: “Kill the veerus.” And only then it will flatten the curve.

Commonsense

MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

‘Kill the veerus’

Just two days ago, the Philippines breached the 200-mark of cases of people infected with the dreaded coronavirus 2019, or COVID-19 for short. As of press time yesterday, there were 15 more new cases of infected individuals that brought the total number of COVID-19 cases to 217.

And we are just on Day 4 when the Luzon-wide home quarantine took effect on orders of President Rodrigo Duterte in the government’s bid to slow down, if not totally stop the continuing spread of the COVID-19 contagion. For this purpose, President Duterte signed Proclamation 922 on March 8 to expand the community quarantine originally placed all over the 16 cities and one municipality in Metro Manila to imposing home quarantine to all residents of the entire Luzon island.

Proclamation 922 also placed the entire Philippines under a “State of Public Health Emergency” following the spike in COVID-19 cases that doubled over night from a total of 64 to 111 the next day while fatalities rose to eight. To further heighten the urgency. President Duterte subsequently placed the entire country under a State of Public Calamity in Proclamation 923.

These measures were implemented based on the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases chaired by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Dr. Francisco Duque III. As we grapple with the spiraling cases of confirmed COVID-19 infection, Duque would unfortunately had to undergo self-quarantine since Wednesday.

Duque got infected after “close contact” with a 60-year-old senior DOH director who turned out positive on COVID-19 infection. The 63-year-old Duque is awaiting the results of his COVID-19 infection test. Since he has pre-existing hypertension and asthma, Duque admitted, he has to take precautions for his own state of health. For now, he is asymptomatic, or showing no signs of symptoms like fever or any other manifestation of COVID-19 infection.

Duque is now part of the government statistics on the persons under monitoring (PUMs), or those without symptoms but travelled to a country with local transmission and got exposed to an infected person. This is to differentiate the PUIs, or persons under investigation that pertains to those with symptoms, travel history to a country with local transmission and exposure to infected persons. 

As of noon yesterday, there were 4,929 PUMs and 380 PUIs in the watch list of the DOH. So far, 655 tested negative while 217 others confirmed positive with COVID infection. There are 298 cases, including Duque, still awaiting COVID-19 test results since obviously there are not enough testing kits here. But all of these PUMs and PUIs could become potential COVID-19 carriers. Hopefully, we pray they turn out eventually as negative of infection. Our country has recorded 17 dead and 8 recovered so far.

An affiliate of The Philippine Star, Interaksyon reported that our own Filipino scientists have developed analyses on the importance of controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic, or “flattening the curve” of COVID-19 cases in our country. Epidemiologists, or the experts in the study of infectious diseases, coined the term “flatten the curve,” which they defined as a general concept of slowing down the transmissions or the spread of the deadly virus.

The phrase has lately become popular not only here in our country but for the rest of the world plagued by this pandemic disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) elevated COVID-19 from public health emergency of international concern to the level of pandemic because there are now more than 114 countries where the contagion has spread.

One of the Filipino scientists Mahar Lagmay shared in the social media a short explainer video about it last March 13. In the video clip, Interaksyon further reported, “it was shown that the curve is a component in the graph that represents the number of individuals afflicted with COVID-19 at a period of time. This was compared with the permanent line that represents capacity of hospitals and health care centers to accept patients. Its goal is not to stop the transmissions altogether but to slow it down at a manageable pace for the medical sector to handle.”

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a tele-conference beamed from the DOH to Malacanang press room placed a rough estimate of about 75,000 new coronavirus cases in the Philippines within two to three months if the spread of COVID-19 is not contained. Vergeire, however, remains hopeful our country could still “flatten the curve” if only the “stringent” quarantine measures being enforced by the government are strictly followed by the people.

According to the same Interaksyon report, another Filipino scientist Darwin Bandoy, from the University of the Philippines, predicted that the curve of COVID-19 in the country would peak at 244,628 cases this coming June should the government fail to slow it down. Badoy also shared a graph of it last March 15. In the caption, he said: “Let’s flatten the curve!”

If our Health Secretary is vulnerable to COVID-19 like any one of us, much more so to 74-year-old President Duterte. He also has pre-existing medical condition that can complicate his state of health. Incidentally, the President is turning a year older this March 28.

But this does not stop the Davao City Mayor from carrying the “whole nation” battle against COVID-19. Without any facemask and his ubiquitous ionizer hanging from his neck, President Duterte went early dawn last Tuesday to inspect the Valenzuela City-Meycauyan COVID-19 police checkpoint.

Will someone tell the President being a fatalist does not make him a good model for government’s all out campaign to make Filipinos comply with protecting ourselves from spreading COVID-19 infection.

In fatherly talk with those stranded at the checkpoint, President Duterte appealed to them to heed the home quarantine for their own protection and to help stop the spread of the contagion. “Together we can beat COVID-19. Together we heal as one,” the President declared. To quote the President: “Kill the veerus.” And only then it will flatten the curve.