OpinionsPublic EngagementClosing social distance and stigma

Closing social distance and stigma

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In my previous column here (March 15, MetroPost), I wrote that social distancing was introduced as a preventive measure against the wide transmission of CoViD-19. I also explained that social distance is, sociologically, a measure how one group is prejudiced by another, thus, it has a negative connotation.

It is harsh to socially isolate particular people from the mainstream due perhaps to unresolved or unfounded issues or differences. This was not the intention of social distancing as originally conceived for this pandemic.

Physical distancing is the correct term eventually adopted by the World Health Organization to avoid further confusion in the ground.

But how people are responding to the call for physical distancing is not proving to be effective enough.

The number of positive cases and deaths due to CoViD-19 continues to rise in the country. Many people still go out either to work or to buy food. Others seem not to understand that if they get infected because they are not properly protected when outside, they are actually exposing also their own family members when they return home.

As how things now unfold, social distancing as an effect of physical distancing has regained its notorious meaning as observed in the unintended consequences of personal and enhanced community quarantine.

The manner these regulations are framed and enforced separates family members, results to misunderstanding in the community, privileges certain people in high position, nurtures confusion among those already scared, and produces resistance among those severely-affected economically or, in general, social disharmony.

But the alterations in social behavior are the expected social costs to physically survive in fighting against CoViD-19 which have no tested biological remedies yet.

The option is either to enjoy personal freedom, or to allow the collapse of humanity. The latter is a better option and drastic changes are needed to confront the threats of a natural phenomenon — the call of the majority. This option is a reflection of the fear about untimely and useless death from an “invisible” enemy.

Coordinated action or cooperation, as the antidote of social distancing, is the most appropriate social behavior at this time. As observed now, while the government executes solutions and regulates certain actions, the constituents either immediately abide or correct some hastily-made decisions and promulgations. Others suggest some sound alternatives of doing things, which the authorities also seem to note, thereby amending some regulations. These gestures bridge social distance and division which are necessary in crisis management.

Questioning the decisions and actions of authorities should not be viewed by those in position as outright resistance. It is, in fact, a way of expressing legitimate concerns that may perhaps have been overlooked due to the exigencies requiring snap decisions.

The modifications or adjustments done on the enforcement of community quarantine and curfew are examples of how local government units listened to public reactions, especially those expressed on social media. Incidentally, not a few have been happy about this development.

What seems to be causing more worry is the social stigma and discrimination experienced by the families of CoViD-19 positive patients who died, the patients who recovered, and the healthcare providers. Physically distancing from them at this time is expected as instinctual, but exactly how they are being treated — avoided, harassed, denied or bullied — is a deprivation of their dignity as human beings.

These inappropriate behaviors have already become a global phenomenon like those reported cases in China, India, and Singapore.

Closer to home, a local incident in Iloilo City got national attention when a private hospital admitted its first positive case of CoViD-19. Rappler (March 24) reported that the hospital administration “confirmed stories circulating on social media that their staff members were experiencing discrimination not only in business establishments but also in their own communities and homes.”

Social stigma and discrimination are perhaps precautionary manifestations in people who are alarmed by some lapses on how suspected cases of CoViD-19 are handled. This fear is heightened when professional healthcare providers directly in contact with a CoViD-19 patient eventually get infected, or worse, die.

The insufficient personal protection equipment and the sheer physical exhaustion that increases risk exposure are blamed for this. The prevailing fear suggests a glooming social mistrust of the efficacy of the healthcare system of the country.

There are also asymptomatic cases, and anyone who has had physical contact with a CoViD-19 positive patient is avoided as well. Some deliberately choose not to disclose their recent travel to places with high cases of viral infection, or withhold information about having CoViD symptoms, or that they are under investigation — thereby putting the healthcare providers in greater risk or causing the death of the medical doctors themselves. Moreover, there have been Patients under Investigation who eventually died without getting their laboratory test results back, adding to the horrible picture of the agonizing experience when one is infected with CoViD.

Almost everyone now is living in fear that anyone could get infected anytime soon, and that this could mean everyone else, unless everyone would cooperate in preventing more viral transmissions.

The CoViD patients who have since died, and those who are yet being tested or monitored are just among the randomly-infected, intensified by the levels of exposure to the virus. Their families now need our compassion and support so they can sustain to take care of those being monitored yet or quarantined at home.

More importantly, the healthcare providers as direct front-liners exposed to those infected patients should be appreciated, inspired, and given the trust because they are risking their lives to care for the many. They are exerting all efforts to provide the necessary care despite the limited resources at their disposal.

One way we can show that we also care for the healthcare providers is to SIMPLY STAY HOME because protection starts with each one of us within our respective families.

_____________________________________

Author’s email: [email protected]

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