Balancing lives and livelihoods (Part 2)

More than ever, vigilance is needed in enforcing measures essential to keeping the public health safe while allowing the continued easing of the country’s economy under new normal conditions. This is the right balance in protecting lives and livelihoods.

Priority attention should be devoted to people’s health safety in both private and public offices, as well as while using all kinds of public transportation. Among the protocols laid out by health experts, the need to observe social distancing presents the biggest challenge.

The spate of work-related coronavirus infections in recent days attests to the laxity by which the government has allowed work places to open. When groups of office workers have tested positive, this makes public transportation a likely source of contamination if commuters do not safely abide by rules of wearing facemasks, keeping hands sanitized, and maintaining 1.5 meters of distance from others.

We can take comfort, however, in a recent situational report by the World Health Organization that the rise in reported cases in recent days is a function of increased testing, as well as improvement in the speed of testing by laboratories.

Low death rate

This is underpinned by better statistics of lower deaths per one million people in the population, and the low number of critical COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

The Philippines has one of the lowest numbers of cases per one million people, even if it has now the second highest number of cases in absolute numbers in Southeast Asia next to Indonesia.

Total deaths of late have breached the 1,300-mark, which has translated into 12 deaths per one million in the population. While one death is too many, this is enviable compared to what countries like the US (404) and Brazil (314) are currently going through. The population of the US is three times ours, while Brazil is two times more.

Keeping deaths at a low rate in the Philippines is bolstered by measures that discourage the elderly and children from leaving their homes. Old people, together with people of any age with pre-existing medical conditions, are more vulnerable to becoming seriously sick of the virus, while children have been known to be carriers of the virus without showing any signs of infection.

Of course, the Philippines – unlike the US and Brazil – has observed more austere measures to keep the infection spread at a more decent rate through continued reminders for its citizens to wear masks in public, observe social distancing, and to frequently sanitize hands.

The return of the elderly to truly normal social patterns will come when a vaccine is found and made available. This will protect them from asymptomatic coronavirus carriers. Those with underlying ailments who may not be ready to receive vaccines, however, will need to continue quarantine measures until this deadly virus indeed blows over.

Given the absence of a vaccine, doctors are learning how to effectively deal with the virus in patients. The international health community has been openly sharing treatment recipes involving a combination of available drugs, as well as handling of patients before and during intensive care admission.

This has resulted in shorter treatments and a decongestion of intensive care units for only the most critically ill. In the Philippines, the WHO has noted the improvement of our health care system in setting up isolation facilities for those infected, and continued readiness of health care personnel in dealing with the deadly virus.

While the current infection rate is not alarming, suppressing transmission to more manageable levels is desired. Continued observance of recommended public health measures needs to be studiously observed and implemented to wage a winning war against the virus.

Herd immunity

Hopefully, the Philippines will develop a herd immunity by sustaining its current controlled environment, and thus, prevent another spike of infections when and if a second wave does happen.

How the UK and Sweden allowed the virus to run amok is something we can ill-afford, given the still precarious state of our health system. We have far fewer ICU beds and mechanical ventilators that can cope with hundreds more getting critically ill.

While we have more isolation wards set up, the number of qualified health care workers available for such facilities should infection numbers shoot up is not reassuring.

The Philippines’ ability to test and trace is still lacking, in spite of the recent improvements initiated by vulnerable local governments and the Department of Health. We are still testing too few for comfort, and our contact tracing ability is still in its sophomoric state.

As quarantined areas shift from enhanced to general, slippages are bound to happen, especially when a false sense of wellness sets in. We cannot undermine the health risks of a virus resurgence, and we cannot afford to keep people away from jobs and livelihoods.

Especially in underprivileged communities, children are now running around and intermingling with others without proper protection. The risks here must be balanced with the need for children to socialize, but not infect those most vulnerable.

More restaurants are opening indoor dining, another risk that needs to be managed well. The same is true with salons, spas, barbershops, and places of worship, likewise for professional sports practice sessions like with basketball.

The potential to pass on infection is well documented in the US, which had announced an easing of quarantine measures a month ago, but was remiss in following through in the standards of the new normal, i.e., face masks, social distancing, sanitizers, etc.

Let’s remember all these lessons and put them to good use.

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