Human survival is a shared goal, and I think no one would question that. But how this would be realized during the CoViD-19 pandemic have initially caused tension to many leaders, both national and local. They have their divergent priorities on how to fight the virus.
The resources that are available at the disposable of every government unit and agency were also creating problems. The CoViD-19 is a public health issue but with several serious economic repercussions. This type of disaster was not seriously anticipated many years ago; thus, to my knowledge, there is no national plan for this yet.
I would argue that healing as one and surviving the pandemic primarily depends upon both synchronized individual activities and the collective ability to respond and overcome compounding factors. These abilities include having been freed from viral infection, escaped from hunger due to food scarcity, secured from physical assaults due to the crisis, and emancipated from mental torture. The first two on the list are the major issues that often caused the tension, but these have also cultured the creativity among leaders how to equally address them. These would also resolve the last two factors.
The imposition of enhanced community quarantine and the enforcement of physical distancing have shown initial positive results in some parts of the country, but the national picture is yet discouraging to warrant that flattening the curve is closer. Although being questioned that the reporting of cases was incomplete in giving the real situation in the ground, the Philippines is now number one among ASEAN countries with CoViD-19 positive cases (https://news.abs-cbn.com/news /04/15/20/).
Perhaps the value of this report is not on the comparison, but on the trend of the reported cases with consideration of the population size, geography, and medical resources in each country.
The success of the precautionary measures to prevent viral transmission primarily depends upon how these are religiously observed.
However, this is also relative to how the public has internalized the seriousness of the pandemic, and assumed moral responsibility to care for the welfare of other people by staying at home.
It would seem easier for government to just tell the public to do this, but without enough food assistance, the defiance to the rules may persist, especially among the daily wage earners (no work-no income).
Thus, the context of failure to comply with behavioral restrictions at this time has to be assessed so this problem can be effectively addressed.
Here in Negros Oriental, some may be hopeful of the small gains of local initiatives against viral transmission because there were no new reported CoViD-19 positive cases while awaiting results of those newly tested. But the provincial government cannot just lift the ECQ without consideration of the real situation of the neighboring provinces in the country.
While efforts are localized to contain and restrain viral infection and transmission, respectively, this requires a systemic approach to sustain local efforts. While every local government unit has to be alert of what is happening in the ground, they have also to be conscious of the national and global scenarios in the fight against CoViD-19.
Going with the above argument, and pursuant to the recommendation of the provincial Inter-Agency Task Force against CoViD-19, Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Ragay Degamo announced the extended ECQ of the Province until April 30.
This declaration followed the same decision a week ago of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson of Negros Occidental, which now put the entire Negros Island under extended ECQ.
The announcement for the extension was always in advance in order for every local government units to be prepared in securing the food assistance of their displaced and marginalized constituencies.
This will also allow the affluent residents to purchase the needed household supplies for the duration of the quarantine in order to avoid or reduce crowding in public places.
In the declaration of extended ECQ, I would presume that the health and economic implications behind the decisions were taken into consideration.
It must be a product of the serious and open debate between the medical experts and political leaders who were driven by different priorities–health versus economy–but actually being moved by the same goal–to defeat CoViD-19.
The deliberation period of the extension was shorter at this time and with lesser tension as compared to the first time the ECQ was declared.
The provincial leadership must have also appreciated how the different local government units had cooperated. They had implemented all the prescribed precautionary measures of securing the economic needs of some people–although there were also those not happy enough–while protecting the life of the majority or all from the virus.
But I pray that there will be no declaration of total lockdown because that means the situation get worse rather than improve.
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