No to new hard lockdowns

At the rate the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) kept on mutating this deadly contagion, the World Health Organization (WHO) could not tell anymore how many strains there are now. Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, affected nations like the Philippines have restricted, if not closed down totally, border gates. After curbing the rapid transmission and spread of the pandemic virus through border controls, we may see yet another tightening of travel restrictions due to the latest COVID-19 variant traced in the United Kingdom (UK).

On the eve of Christmas day, our own border controls have been reinstalled specifically against travelers from UK until the end of this year. In fact, President Rodrigo Duterte convened last Saturday an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) and decided to extend the ban for another two weeks.

The COVID-19 strain that started the pandemic is the one being detected by laboratory tests as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-COV-2). The UK variant known as DG14G is reportedly more transmissible but of the same virulence. The WHO noted the UK variant is not any deadlier but has the same severity of causing death, especially to patients with comorbidities, or pre-existing medical problems.

Long before the UK-strain erupted, our epidemiologists reported to WHO they have detected other variants of the COVID-19 that mutated here and other countries experienced the same.

Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, first revealed this to us when he was the featured guest during our Kapihan sa Manila Bay virtual news forum last Nov. 18. “I think there is already 10 to 12 strains of COVID. There is Cuban strain, another is a sailor’s strain,” Gordon disclosed that early on. Sen. Gordon urged our health and medical experts to do a study on COVID-19 cases among Filipino patients to determine the seeming resiliency of our people from this virus as it mutates. “To know what we’re doing right, or what we’re doing wrong,” Gordon pointed out.

Gordon suspected that the COVID-19 infection might have been intentionally spread. “So to me I will keep my thoughts to myself. Talagang may gumawa ng kalokohan d’yan. That’s my own impression na talagang may nagpakalat d’yan ng experimentation. Naging run-away experimentation,” Gordon mused, adding: “But nagtataka ako. Bakit ang bilis sa ibang bansa at sa ibang bansa ulit ng ulit.”

This brings to mind the cold war era during which mutual accusations flew thick among and between arch enemies and allies of the United States and Russia of allegedly engaging in “germ warfare” as the next battlefield after atomic bomb ended World War II.

Fast Forward. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic early this year, US President Donald Trump has accused China earlier for the contagion. This was after the virus first spread in the province of Wuhan weeks before the Chinese Lunar Year travels began. Experts from WHO are still in Wuhan investigating the origins of the COVID-19.

Definitely, the newest COVID-19 variant is causing another round of scare that prompted President Duterte to cancel the pilot-testing next month of the return of “face-to-face” classes. This, after Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III explained that, unlike the COVID-19 cases here, children are more vulnerable to the UK variant. Obviously alarmed by these latest developments, the Chief Executive summoned all Cabinet officials led by Duque as the co-chairman of the IATF to an emergency meeting at Malacañang.

Normally, the President conducts the IATF meeting every Monday at Malacañang. As the policy-making body, the IATF evaluates and recommends to the President calibrated quarantine measures and other anti-COVID response and actions of the government.

Even as there is no detected case yet of this UK variant, the President raised the possible need to reimpose a lockdown to stop this early its local transmission. For now, only passengers who have been to the UK in the last 14 days and even transiting travelers are temporarily restricted from entering the Philippines. Returning and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from UK are allowed to come home provided they undergo a swab test. But even if they turn negative of SARS-COV-2, they will all be immediately taken to the Athlete’s Village in New Clark City to undergo the required 14-day quarantine.

Already, countries like the US, South Africa, Denmark, Germany, Australia and, much closer to home, Japan and Singapore have reported confirmed cases of the variant. Over 50 countries have temporarily suspended flights from Britain. So far, President Duterte was informed a total of 79 passengers returned from UK since Dec. 22.

At the emergency meeting, the IATF also submitted the new quarantine classifications for the different parts of the country for the month of January, 2021. The IATF conducts monthly review whether to downgrade or upgrade community quarantine depending on the COVID-19 incidence in each areas.

Metro Manila and Davao City are currently under general community quarantine (GCQ) because of fairly high transmission of COVID-19 cases along with a few other areas in the country. A GCQ is a two-step downgrade of restrictions from the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) – or euphemism for a hard lockdown – and modified ECQ.

During the same meeting, medical experts told the President that the UK variant has not shown to reduce the efficacy of vaccines so far developed to fight off COVID-19. Still, the WHO urged countries to continue with strong surveillance and further increase capacity of health system to respond to the new challenges from the pandemic.

Another IATF meeting is set today to determine if the travel ban will cover also other countries that have confirmed cases of the UK variant. In this way, there should be no need to reimpose hard lockdown.