Continued vigilance
If you are a Filipino, then you love basketball. And if you love basketball, you can’t not know the legendary Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. The whole world was stunned Monday morning by the news of Kobe's death in a helicopter crash. His daughter Gianna was also with him, along with seven others including the pilot. No official investigation results have been released as to the cause of the crash. Right now, the whole world is in mourning for Kobe, who not only left a legacy in basketball but also helped people and made many children happy. Our heartfelt condolences to the family that Kobe and Gianna left behind.
The country continues to be vigilant in its monitoring of the possible entry of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). At present, the DOH has not confirmed a case of the coronavirus but several are still being monitored, particularly those who have traveled from China. Samples are sent to Australia to confirm if whatever ails the monitored patients is the new coronavirus. So far, so good. Some Chinese tourists who were heading to Boracay were just sent back. In China, a hundred have been confirmed dead from the virus with thousands infected. Some parts of China are already in lockdown to prevent people from coming in or going out.
A vaccine is already being synthesized at a fast pace. But this isn't the movies where a vaccine can be synthesized in a matter of minutes upon acquiring an immune subject thereby saving the world by the time the movie ends. It may take months before it is created and will still have to undergo clinical trials. Hopefully, the virus has not spread that far. Hopefully.
But the virus has already migrated. Some cases have been recorded in other countries. Travelers from Wuhan before the 2019-nCoV news broke have returned or continued on their journeys bringing with them unwanted passengers. America and Canada have already issued travel restrictions to China. The economies of many countries especially China and Hong Kong are already affected. Even that enchanted kingdom run by a famous mouse had to close down. Stock markets have fallen. The internet is full of memes about products originating from China and how to handle them. The airlines are also reeling from the drop in bookings specifically to China.
The DOH also asked the public to refrain from spreading false, unverified information about the presence of the 2019-nCoV. False news do much more harm than good, especially in this case. There is nothing political about this so those trying to make it appear that way should give it a rest. Information should only come from official announcements. Good advice is to stay healthy, always wash hands and maybe stay away from public places, if possible.
January isn't over yet.
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