"There is a need to test more of the general population not included in the protocol."
The government is now ramping up what it calls mass testing. As of Tuesday, about 35,000 people have already been tested. But although the government is using the term mass testing, not everyone will actually end up being tested. Testing will still have to follow a protocol. This is to test first those who are suspected of being infected because of symptoms, followed by our frontliners, then the vulnerable group like the elderly with underlying medical conditions and pregnant women.
According to medical experts, however, about 20 to 45 percent of infected people do not exhibit any symptoms at all. If this is true, the government will miss a lot if testing is limited only to those enumerated in the testing protocol. We need to test a lot more.
We cannot of course test everyone but random sampling could do the trick. The IATF should consult with statisticians who do surveys so that a scientific random testing could be done not only in the Metro area which is the epicenter but also the entire country with a much smaller sample size. Maybe a sample size of 5,000 in the metro area and another 7,000 for the rest of the country will give the IATF a clearer picture of the true state of infection.
There is a need to test more of the general population not included in the protocol in order for the government to be able to make the best decision on what to do next.
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Last Sunday, this paper reported that a prominent TV personality claimed on social media that the government appeared to be prohibiting hospitals from reporting the actual number of people dying due to COVID-19.
This generated a vigorous denial from the Secretary of Health, Francisco Duque.
To be fair to the government, President Rodrigo Duterte, as early as January, issued a statement that the public will hear nothing but the truth about COVID-19. Since then, the DOH has been steadfast in following this guideline. I have not seen any action on the part of the Inter Agency Task Force that would tend to hide anything from the public. Nothing will derail government efforts more than hiding the truth from the public.
One major enemy during this time is fake news which was called rumor mongering in the old days. This is because in addition to standard news outlets such as newspaper, radios, and television we now have social media. The degree in which people are now wired as compared to just a decade ago is phenomenal. It is harder to control or suppress because it is some kind of an open market and hard to restrict.
This is why truth is the best antidote to gain the trust and confidence of the people. That social media report has since been deleted but nonetheless, the DOH had to scramble to clarify the issue.
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Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire is back to her daily updates of the COVID-19 situation after a few days of absence. I have nothing but praise for the way she has been patiently handling the briefing, answering all those questions and clarifying and explaining the DOH’s position on certain issues.
I know that our medical frontliners are all giving their best but perhaps during her daily briefing, the good doctor can find time to give a little more profile of those passing away instead of just the number. For instance, classification as to their ages, gender or whether they had underlying medical conditions. These plus other details could be helpful.
I also do not know whether cremating the remains immediately after a person dies is the right policy backed up by science considering that other countries seem to allow burial as long as it is done as soon as possible and the remains are handled properly. Cremating people just hours after death brings to mind the way people in medieval Europe disposed of their dead during the Black Death pandemic by simply burning everything because of fear of the unknown. Yet, we tell people not to treat infected people as lepers.
I hope that in the remaining days of the lockdown, the recovery rate will continue to improve and outpace the fatalities to give the public something to cheer about instead of the daily doses of depressing news about so many people dying of the disease not only in this country but all over the world.
Lastly, let us hope that the government realizes that it is not fighting a conventional war but an asymmetric one and it needs to innovate, adjust and act faster to stay ahead of the disease. If not, COVID-19 will overwhelm us. We cannot afford to let this happen.
