COVID-19 frontline fighters die

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- At least nine doctors who have been in the forefront in fighting the novel corona virus since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, died. This should be ample reason for all frontliners to be given adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to be able to fight the novel corona virus, an unseen killer.

              In the meantime, while medical workers and professionals in the frontlines go to the hospitals to perform their duties, everybody else should help them by staying at home.

The best thing to do now is to rally behind government and our medical and security frontliners who are fighting hard to defeat an invisible killer. The situation in the weeks to come is likely to worsen because hundreds of nurses and doctors are now quarantined which in effect, reduced the already dwindling workforce of the hospitals.

And as I begin writing this, the DOH confirms that their very own Sec. Francisco Duque is under home quarantine because he has been tested for COVID-19 but is currently asymptomatic. The DOH said, Sec. Duque has asthma and hypertension.

Hopefully, the prediction that some private hospitals will temporarily close operations due to the decreasing number of medical workers and lack of personal protective equipment will not come true.

In a rush to address the medical crisis, the House of Representatives adopted a Senate bill to grant President Rodrigo Duterte special powers to purchase essential medical supplies such as PPE, open quarantine centers, goods and services.

The House passed HB No. 6616 that would allow President Duterte to declare a national emergency in the middle of the rapid spike of COVID-19 cases in the country, including fast-tracking of testing for persons under investigation and monitoring (PUIs and PUMs).

Amid the increase of COVID-19 cases, celebrities such as entertainers and musicians all over, including government officials were not spared by a disease that exempts no one.

The latest Philippine official to be hit was Senator Sonny Angara who announced on March 26 that he has tested positive. He is the third senator to become infected with COVID-19, after Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Koko Pimentel III.

Zubiri who was asymptomatic said he didn't know how he got the deadly virus, while Senator Koko Pimentel III said he took the test on March 20 and was informed about the result late Tuesday, March 24.

COVID-19 did not spare police frontliners as two cops tested positive also last March 25. Earlier, a personnel at the Manila Police District and another from the PNP Chaplain Service tested positive.

Within the military, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officials admitted that a couple recently travelled overseas and were tested positive here.

In the U.S. of A., “Running on Empty” singer-composer Jackson Browne, 71, also tested positive for coronavirus but claimed that his symptoms so far have been mild.

When asked about his reaction to President Trump’s response to the disease, Jackson Browne said “how can you take this administration seriously when they’re all at these press conferences, standing close together, touching the microphone, shaking hands and patting each other on the back?”

“How can you help but think, why should I listen to these guys,” he added. Exactly, this demonstrates why the spike of COVID-19 cases in the US increased rapidly. It is because the threat of the virus was taken for granted.

               The other prominent figures that were stricken by the corona virus were Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Prince Charles, actor Tom Hanks and partner Rita Wilson, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, and more than 20 others.

In Baguio, there was concern for colleagues in the media who were always out in the field to cover events related to the crisis, interview personalities or attend press meetings and placing themselves at risk in the process.

Many of us do not have the benefit of private motor vehicles and that adds to the threat against one media person’s life as operations of public utility vehicles were all suspended to stop people from going out of their homes.

I was thinking, there must be a way for the press to perform its role without having to go through the risk, or work without going out of the house. In this case, the photographers, of course, have to be on site physically.

              Media persons are aware that they have a role to perform in helping resolve emergencies. But doing their jobs is made difficult by situations, both natural and man-made.

Amid the confusion and discoordination in law enforcement, I do hope that no one from the media who is out in the fields gets hit by the COVID-19. Imagine what could happen to a world without news coverage.

In the middle of a suspended travel, I see people crowding in checkpoints and barangay halls applying for permits in order to reach their destinations, which to me defeats the purpose of physical distancing.  

As the story deepens, people come to know more about the corona virus that can be passed to others even before they themselves get the symptoms. That is why COVID-19 is not that easy to kill.

But that makes one understand why an effective way of killing the corona virus is to stop people from mingling in crowds, honesty and a lot of common sense. And treat yourself as if you are positive with COVID-19.

On the other hand, people further come across questions such as: if reinfection is possible with the corona virus and will the pandemic be seasonal since the hot summer has just set in?

If the answer to these questions is “yes” then there is a big possibility that we may have to continue with community quarantines and live with social distancing for years to come to prevent people from dying, especially if no drug to kill COVID-19 is discovered.

So far, it has been explained that the virus is passed through droplets from coughing or sneezing, although there are certainly other unknown modes of transmission.

And to fight it is to keep reminding ourselves to observe the do’s and don’ts such as washing the hands often for at least 20 seconds, covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing with a tissue then throwing the tissue in the trash, and by staying home.

The don’ts are simply don’t touch your face, don’t travel if you have a fever and cough, and don’t wear a face mask if you are well.

COVID-19 like the ordinary cough and colds might become a disease that will never disappear so that even while we want this to end sooner, the fight may not be over tomorrow, next month or beyond.

Meanwhile, let us face the fact that COVID-19 will be with us for a length of time we do not know.