More news about the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise and the DOH continues to issue misleading statements about the nature of the situation.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has taken back his earlier pronouncement that the country’s COVID-19 infection curve has been “flattened” since April, this time saying it was “bent”.
In a series of tweets hours after making the controversial remark, Duque “clarified” the statement he made during a pre-State of the Nation Address forum.
“Our case doubling time in April passed the 3-day doubling time mark,” he explained.
Forward to July 15, the Department of Health (DOH) chief said, case doubling time is eight days which is past the seven-day doubling time mark.
“This means we bent the curve in April after the March ECQ but we are seeing an increase in cases due to the expanded testing capacity and community transmission as we allow movement of people,” he continued.
(What’s important is we maintain the number of cases at manageable levels so that our healthcare workers will not be overwhelmed and overworked.)
Whether or not the rise in cases is to attributed to the "movement of people" due to the
reopening of the economy or "expanded testing capacity" or it is certain that the number of infected continues to rise faster than predicted.
As of 4 P.M., we have crossed the 60,000 mark with 2,498 new confirmed cases out to 84.5 percent (71 of 84 labs) reporting. We now have 61,266 total cases with 75.5 percent or a whopping 1,886 cases coming from National Capital Region (NCR) alone. The remaining provinces that round up the top five: Cebu with 198; two provinces in Region IVA, namely, Cavite with 57 and Laguna with 44; and Davao del Sur with 44 cases.
This is the most number of cases NCR has ever registered since the start of the pandemic. And if we review the breakdown of the data yesterday on the 708 cases in NCR, one should not be surprised at the hospitals hollering that they’re full to the brim with their COVID wards.
Of the 1,310 new confirmed cases yesterday afternoon, 54 percent (708) were from NCR alone. The other contributors included Regions IVA (169 cases), VII (208 cases), Region VI (134 cases), Region X (47 cases), and Region IX (42 cases). Only BARMM did not have a case reported yesterday.
One certainly would expect hospitals to be filled to the brim with COVID-19 patients but tens of thousands of actively infected patients are not being quarantined in a hospital.
Over 33,000 active cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as of July 15 have not been admitted to hospitals, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed
According to Mariz Umali’s Thursday report on “24 Oras”, the DOH's data drop for July 15 showed that there were 33,786 cases of COVID-19 outside the hospitals.
The number represented 93 percent of the active cases.
According to the DOH Data Drop, 31,090 or 92 percent of active cases are mild, 2,551 are asymptomatic, while 2,184 are confined in hospitals.
The GMA News Research team’s analysis of the DOH data found that the majority of active cases are in Metro Manila, followed by Central Visayas and Calabarzon.
If the NCR has the most number of emerging cases then why not go back to ECQ? Why not bring in armored personnel vehicles like in Navotas which has started a two week lockdown and is part of the NCR and Metro Manila area?
On the first day of the city-wide lockdown on Thursday, armored personnel carriers were deployed to Navotas City to assist in the strict enforcement of the lockdown measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Police Major General Debold Sinas also visited the city to inspect the situation in the area.
"Right now, our deployment and the rotation of our troops are good. Because we are training, this is the first day of deployment," Sinas said in Allan Gatus' live report on Dobol B on News TV.
Sinas said the two armored personnel carriers are not meant to scare the residents but only to remind them about the presence of policemen in the area.
"[We are not intimidating]. This is to show [that] the SAF (Special Action Force) helped us, to remind our countrymen that we are there, the SAF, that is also the police. .. with us ... reminded that we follow the directives of the city mayor of Navotas, "Sinas said.
A show of force by the SAF is not intimidating at all sure. They are just a reminder to "follow the directives of the city mayor of Navotas."
Duque mentioned making sure that healthcare workers won't be overwhelmed but how is that possible when they are undermanned?
A shortage of personnel remains the "biggest challenge" to the Philippines' coronavirus testing drive, an official leading the effort said Thursday.
Lack of laboratories initially hounded the campaign. But the Philippines has increased its screening capacity to 85 laboratories that can run about 25,000 tests per day, said testing czar Vince Dizon.
"Now that we already have 85 labs, our supplies are coming in, our biggest challenge now is personnel," he told ANC.
As an example, Dizon cited the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, the country's biggest testing lab, which recently downgraded screenings after some personnel caught the respiratory disease.
"Getting more medical technologists, getting more lab personnel is a big challenge. And we have to really find a way to address this by even maybe asking for volunteers from our schools to provide us with skilled technicians," said Dizon, who is also deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force on COVID-19.
There might not be such a shortage of medical technicians if many of them did not go overseas for better pay. But perhaps the golden lining of the pandemic is that some of those OFWs in the medical field will be repatriated.
“The decline in cash remittances was attributed to the unexpected repatriation of some OFs (overseas Filipinos) deployed in countries heavily affected by the pandemic, and temporary closure/limited operating hours of some banks and institutions from both the sending and receiving ends that provide money transfer services during the lockdown,” the BSP said.
“OFW remittances could remain relatively low/sluggish in May 2020 as many host countries remained in lockdown and also in view of the continued repatriation of tens of thousands of OFWs back to the Philippines,” Ricafort said.
“The height of the lockdowns may have also hampered/disrupted the sending and receiving of OFW remittances through various non-digital/non-electronic channels, thereby also contributing to the reduction in OFW remittances volume/amounts,” he added.
Nurses are already feeling the burden of dealing with the pandemic and are demanding better working conditions.
The Filipino Nurses United (FNU) said yesterday that the continuing increase in COVID-19 cases is now taking its toll among nurses that have expressed fears for their safety and that of their families.
FNU vice-president Eleonor Nolasco said yesterday that nurses are restless as they are being swamped with patients who may be infected.
Nolasco said that the protest actions happening at the San Lazaro Hospital (SLH) in Manila are expected to “snowball” to other health facilities as more nurses are coming out to call on the government to improve their conditions.
“Our nurses are very worried because the more the number of cases is increasing, the greater the chance for them to get the virus, especially if they do not have adequate supply of PPE (personal protective equipment),” she added.
Aside from safety concerns the nurses also complained of the non-payment of hazard pay or inadequate compensation, extended working hours and the charging of required quarantine period on their leave of absence, among others.
Nolasco added that if not sufficiently protected, more nurses would be infected by the virus, which is what is happening at SLH.
Nolasco gave assurance that nurses are not about to give up but being in an environment where they feel they are not protected is demoralizing them.
No hazard pay, inadequate PPE, and long hours is demoralizing nurses who already weren't adequately compensated before the pandemic.
The Palace and the DOH both claim that the number of cases started rising once the economy was reopened. But how to balance fighting the virus and keeping the economy open?
The Taguig City government is focusing on the decisive and proactive localized lockdowns to balance the response to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and keeping the economy open, Mayor Lino Cayetano said on Friday.
"Localized lockdowns are the key towards the MGCQ (modified general community quarantine) and the new normal. Where there is a high figure of infections, whether it is a building or just a floor, street or cluster of houses, we will implement a localized lockdown so that other areas will not be affected," Cayetano said in a Laging Handa briefing.
He said such a measure was the consensus of all Metro Manila mayors, noting that putting a village or a city under lockdown is something that they cannot afford anymore.
Cayetano added that localized lockdowns help in keeping the economy open that result in continuity of jobs for the people.
"We are doing this in line with the direction of the national government. We were talking to DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) Secretary Mon Lopez, one of his reminders is to prevent closure of businesses and loss of jobs while we continue to battle the pandemic," he said.
Rolling
, localized, lockdowns in areas with a high infection rate. Two
weeks here, two weeks there, and the economy isn't completely shuttered.
And what's the solution to understaffed hospitals? Utilizing AFP medics.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) can activate field hospitals and deploy medical units to augment public and private hospitals treating people infected with the coronavirus virus disease (Covid-19) should the need arises.
"We can but we may need additional personnel. Our hospitals are also now treating Covid-19 patients and we have also fielded two teams to Cebu," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a message Thursday night when asked if the military can lend a hand should the number of Covid-19 patients continue to rise.
Last June 28, the AFP deployed a military medical team composed of nine doctors, 10 nurses, and 13 medical aides in Cebu to help in ongoing efforts to contain the spike of Covid-19 cases in the city.
Last week DILG Secretary Año said:
"So what we will do, with the help of LGUs (local government units) and PNP (Philippine National Police) we will house that house and bring the positives to our COVID isolation facilities," he added.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/07/coronavirus-lockdown-new-normal-gadgets.html
Very clearly it means the PNP will be going house-to-house searching for those infected with COVID-19. Now Año says that is fake news.
Reports of police and military forces leading the house-to-house searches for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients to be taken to isolation facilities are fake news, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Friday.
In a statement, Año said the reports are “part of the disinformation campaign by unscrupulous individuals.”
Año also reiterated that police officers will only be escorting local government and city health officials during the conduct of “Oplan Kalinga,” which aims to transfer COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms, to government isolation facilities to ensure that they will finish the quarantine period.
“Again, I repeat, the police are there merely in a supporting role,” Año said.
Whether leading the searches of simply assisting LGUs the concern is that the PNP is involved in an capacity with house-to house searches. What exactly will their role be? Will the forcefully extract unwilling patients by gunpoint?
The BFP will also be assisting in house-to-house searches.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has deployed its chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives or CBRNE teams to assist in the house-to-house search for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.
BFP chief Director Jose Embang Jr. said yesterday these special response units natiowide would help local government units in the implementation of Oplan Kalinga, a government program aimed at relocating COVID patients under home quarantine to state-run quarantine or isolation facilities.
Embang said BFP personnel are well-trained in handling hazardous materials and are also equipped with protective gear.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año ordered the BFP to help local health officials in the search for COVID-19 patients.
Good thing BFP personnel have now been issued guns. At least the order has been given and they should be armed soon if not by now.
Wearing a mask is supposed to help deter the transmission of COVID-19 but what if there was a super mask which could prevent 99% of germs from reaching the wearer?
One development aimed at checking the spread of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is the CopperMask, which is now here in the Philippines.
It’s a special facemask made of infused copper strands that have natural anti-microbial properties that protect anyone wearing it not only from SARS-CoV2 but other harmful microorganisms as well.
Most studies show that the coronavirus can last for some time on different surfaces — three to seven days on plastic and stainless steel, up to four days on glass and paper, and a day or two on wood and cardboard.
But most viruses “don’t” stay long on copper surfaces,” according to a recent study conducted by the National Institute of Health in the United States.
The study shows that SARS-CoV2 can last on copper for only four hours.
It's P350 plus shipping for a box of these masks if you care to test them out. Needless to say
some experts are not keen to buy into the claims of these kinds of products. Either way Duterte thinks anyone who does not wear a mask of some kind should be jailed so as to be taught a lesson.
"I have no qualms in arresting people who are not wearing [face] mask. It seems to be trivial, but during a time of pandemic, it can be a serious crime. You are transmitting virus, you are a carrier," Duterte said in a meeting with cabinet officials taped Monday but aired Tuesday morning.
"We'll have to ask our police to be more strict," he told Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.
"If you are brought to a police station and detained there, that will give you a lesson for all time."
He added that he hates to arrest people for a "mere violation," but sees such a move as necessary to ensure cooperation.
In this same speech Duterte also advised people to disinfect their masks with gasoline.
Those wishing to reuse masks can "spray it with alcohol" or "Lysol if you can afford it," and then hang the mask up to dry, Duterte said.
But for those who can't, the president suggested they "soak it in gasoline or diesel." There is no evidence to suggest that gasoline or diesel can kill the COVID-19 virus, and contact with or inhalation of these fuels can cause other health problems.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency list of COVID-19 disinfectants for use on surfaces does not include either gasoline or diesel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that inhaling gasoline can cause asphyxiation, while repeated or prolonged contact with the skin can cause irritation, dermatitis and even burns.
But Duterte appeared convinced of its effectiveness, though The Manilla Bulletinreported that the president was joking. "That son of a b**** COVID won't be able to fight that," he said of his advice. "It's true, if you want disinfection, look for gasoline. Soak your hands. Just do it far away, don't do it inside your house."
Just another joke? Jailing
those
who do not wear a mask appears to be no joke at all.
"We will have a uniform implementation on how to enforce health standards ... number of days in prison if you violate not wearing a mask. We suggest 10 to 30 days, physical distancing also 10 to 30 days imprisonment," Año said during a pre-SONA forum and press conference.
"If you are fine, it's about P1,000 to P5,000. So that will be our uniform implementation," he added.
Crowding the jails with make violators seems counter productive since the DOJ has been releasing inmates in a bid to stop the spread of the virus in the jails.
22,000 so far.
Why the tough talk about mask compliance when the majority of people wear them?
Malacañang on Tuesday was elated that majority of Filipinos are complying with the government’s protocol of wearing face masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.
This, after a survey conducted by a think tank from the United Kingdom (UK) found that most Filipinos wear face masks whenever they leave their homes.
(Because the wearing of face masks lowers the chance of spreading the disease, congratulations Philippines. Let us continue wearing face masks, observing social distancing, and washing hands),” he said.
From June 22 to 28, around 91 percent of Filipinos have worn face masks whenever they are outside of their homes, according to a survey conducted by UK think tank YouGov in partnership with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London.
The study revealed that only 1 percent of Filipinos refused to wear face masks.
All that bluster over 1% of the people who refuse to wear a mask which offers little to no protection against the virus anyway.
We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.
That's medicine talking. That's science speaking. And yet Duterte declares he is making his decisions based on science?
(Just like you, I am mad with what’s happening. You wanted me to open the doorway. I want that. I want, but what holding me back is science.)
(I want, because I got mad, even I was locked up for months. I was also became ineffective, I have become except for the voluminous papers, I became ineffective and there is nothing I can do.)
He does not say what science is holding him back but arresting and imprisoning those who refuse to wear a mask is not based on any kind of science whatsoever.
