A global health emergency

Forget about the exaggerated swagger and the perennial promises to save this nation of 100 million. Forget about the slapstick jokes that can bring a whole barrio rolling over with laughter. Forget about the continuing drug war, brutal as it is.

Forget about the sky high popularity ratings, the populist rhetorics and the convincingly relentless war against the country’s oligarchs especially the cigar-smoking aristocrats and those who can drink their Macallan 18 straight up. 

Forget all that indeed because for now, the Duterte administration will be judged by how well it manages the mysterious yet lethal novel coronavirus. 

As I write this, news just broke that the Philippines confirmed its second case of coronavirus and the patient has died, marking the first death outside China. 

Wow. We sure know how to be in the headlines of newspapers around world.

The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency as the outbreak continues to spread outside China. The rising death toll is alarming — 304 as of this writing and the number of confirmed cases has already crossed the 14,000 mark. 

The numbers are stark and telling and while I do not want to add to the hysteria, I strongly believe this is a very serious matter especially because the outbreak has now reached our chaotic country. 

“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems, the WHO said.

Is it a coincidence the declaration happened on the day the Philippines confirmed its first coronavirus case? 

Obviously, ours is a weaker health system compared to other more developed countries including China, the ground zero. 

It takes a virus

It takes a virus to see what our government can and cannot do. It takes a virus to really see if we are in good hands under this administration or not.

Indeed, it takes a virus to see how ill-prepared the Philippines is for a global health emergency such as this. 

Urgent measures are needed

For sure, our authorities need to do more. Unfortunately, this is not something the administration can just easily wing anymore as it has done with other problems.

When Taal Volcano erupted and President Duterte jokingly offered to eat ash spewed by the volcano and urinate in its crater, his minions just burst into laughter. 

But the coronavirus is a different problem altogether and is no laughing matter.

We need a scientific approach and a well-informed plan to contain the spread of the virus. We need precautionary measures not jokes. We need facts not rumors spawned by the troll farms on our timelines.

We need decisive actions including restricting flights to and from China as other countries have done. Vietnam, Australia and Japan have imposed travel and border restrictions to protect their citizens. 

Other countries also have plans to quarantine evacuees for two weeks to monitor them for symptoms and to avoid contagion. 

China itself has recognized the importance of imposing strong measures such as quarantine of key areas. 

“My colleagues believe that despite the daunting tasks faced by China, such strong measures as quarantine of key areas are still the most effective means to contain the epidemic; otherwise, the whole nation and even the world would be subject to greater public health risks,” said Chen Dongxiao president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, in a report sent by the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

These measures make sense in the short term to restrict the spread of the virus. We don’t necessarily have to impose such measures for a very long time but it is important to have these drastic steps to contain the virus. We should have prepared for this way before the first case was confirmed in the country.

Economic impact

Concerned government agencies also need to brace for the economic impact of the virus. Different industries will take a hit — tourism, airlines, hotels and resorts, malls and retail. 

The Department of Health should ensure that all our medical facilities — government or private — know what to do in case patients swarm their hospitals in the coming days. 

Having access to better hospital treatment would mean more people will survive. Our health authorities should ensure that the poor — who generally have less access to quality health services — will be able to access the right treatment.

When the citizens start falling like flies, so will the workforce, the businesses and ultimately our economy.

No laughing matter

It can’t be business as usual anymore. The government must be on top of the situation. Lives of millions of Filipinos are at stake. 

There’s no time to waste, really.  This is after all a global health emergency and we should treat as it is. No time for jokes, fake news and trolls. No, there’s no time for false bravado, too. 

Iris Gonzales’ email address is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com