Postponement is better than sorry

“Better a thousand times careful than once dead.” 

—Proverb

By Alex P. Vidal

ANYTHING that concerns our health is a priority and should be taken seriously, thus the decision to postpone the Paraw Regatta Festival 2020 scheduled this month because of the coronavirus scare should be viewed as a good move on the part of Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas and the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc (IFFI).

When it comes to public safety and health, there should be no compromise and dilly-dallying.

When people are confused, afraid to join the crowd and worried for their health, it isn’t wise to allow any outdoor event—big or small—to unfold and risk a major cataclysm.

Since it is about a deadly epidemic, all the stakeholders will understand and cooperate. 

No sponsor, government agency, VIP, visiting group of tourists, or sailboat participant will stand in the way to nag and question the postponement.    

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In the 48 years that the multi-day sailboat race was held on the coastline of Iloilo City, it’s the first time to be grounded temporarily because of fear of epidemic. 

Unlike the tightly programmed Dinagyang Festival 2020, it isn’t difficult to hold the Paraw Regatta Festival 2020 in abeyance while public health is under strict scrutiny and contemplation.

Although deaths related to the Wuhan coronavirus were already at fever-pitch in China in December 2019 and January 2020, the level of public panic wasn’t as alarming and thought-provoking compared this month where the death toll has reportedly breached the 900 mark and has eclipsed that of SARS in 2003.

Added to this fear is the most recent revelation by China that the coronavirus is airborne.

The virus can now spread via aerosol transmission—meaning it can drift through the air for an extended period of time and cause infection if breathed in.

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HERE in the Big Apple, a senator has revealed that New York City 

has already spent more than $1 million in the coronavirus response and “could spend millions of local dollars more over the next 60 days to help tackle the virus." 

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, in a press conference Sunday night local time, asked the federal government to reimburse the city for its use of local funds in fighting coronavirus.

Schumer said: "New York City has already spent more than a million dollars on public health activities of national importance to tackle the coronavirus, and could, if the need develops, be looking at a one-million-dollar-a-day tab.”

“Tonight I’m asking the Feds, (Health and Human Services), to sign on the dotted line, just take the contract and sign it and say we will reimburse New York City for its costs. This administration should not be punishing New York by not giving us dollars.”

Preparations in New York: The funds have been distributed to the city's department of health, various hospitals, the New York Police Department, and other local agencies, said the press release. The funds also help source diagnostic tests and other laboratory equipment.

It was reported that there have been no cases of the coronavirus in New York state yet. 

The 12 confirmed cases so far are spread across six states: Washington, Illinois, California, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

We will not die yet

“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.”

—Lao Tzu

By Alex P. Vidal

AS the death toll increases in China, we continue to worry like we are falling in line in the guillotine. 

Death will not yet conquer us; we are miles away from where the coronavirus had originated and necessary measures have been seriously taken by our health agencies to protect those living outside China.

So there’s no need to act like we have been condemned to die and are only waiting for our turn to cough, sneeze hard, and end up bed-ridden for a fever.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) will help us identify, recognize, and understand the virus that has caused worldwide mass hysteria and paranoia. 

We need to educate ourselves first and go to the basics. The following questions have been provided by the CDCP for our guidance: 

What is 2019 Novel Coronavirus?

A: The 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, is a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Learn about 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

Q: What is a novel coronavirus? 

A: A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified. The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), is not that same as the coronaviruses that commonly circulate among humans and cause mild illness, like the common cold.

A diagnosis with coronavirus 229E, NL63, OC43, or HKU1 is not the same as a 2019-nCoV diagnosis. These are different viruses and patients with 2019-nCoV will be evaluated and cared for differently than patients with common coronavirus diagnosis.

Q: What is the source of 2019-nCoV?

A: Public health officials and partners are working hard to identify the source of the 2019-nCoV. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats and bats. Analysis of the genetic tree of this virus is ongoing to know the specific source of the virus. SARS, another coronavirus that emerged to infect people, came from civet cats, while MERS, another coronavirus that emerged to infect people, came from camels. More information about the source and spread of 2019-nCoV is available on the 2019-nCoV Situation Summary: Source and Spread of the Virus.

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Q: How does the virus spread?

A: This virus probably originally emerged from an animal source but now seems to be spreading from person-to-person. It’s important to note that person-to-person spread can happen on a continuum. Some viruses are highly contagious (like measles), while other viruses are less so. At this time, it’s unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading between people. Learn what is known about the spread of newly emerged coronaviruses.

Q: Is 2019-nCoV the same as the MERS-CoV or SARS virus?

A: No. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats and bats. The recently emerged 2019-nCoV is not the same as the coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) or the coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). However, genetic analyses suggest this virus emerged from a virus related to SARS. There are ongoing investigations to learn more. This is a rapidly evolving situation and information will be updated as it becomes available.

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Prevention

Q: How can I help protect myself?

A: Visit the 2019-nCoV Prevention and Treatment page to learn about how to protect yourself from respiratory illnesses, like 2019-nCoV.

Q: What should I do if I had close contact with someone who has 2019-nCoV?

A: There is information for people who have had close contact with a person confirmed to have, or being evaluated for, 2019-nCoV infection available online.

Q: Does CDC recommend the use of facemask in the community to prevent 2019-nCoV?

A: No. CDC does not currently recommend the use of facemasks among the general public. While limited person-to-person spread among close contacts has been detected, this virus is not currently spreading in the community in the United States. 

Medical Information

Q: What are the symptoms and complications that 2019-nCoV can cause?

A: Current symptoms reported for patients with 2019-nCoV have included mild to severe respiratory illness with fever1, cough, and difficulty breathing. Read about 2019-nCoV Symptoms.

Q: Should I be tested for 2019-nCoV?

A: If you develop a fever1 and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as cough or shortness of breath, within 14 days after travel from China, you should call ahead to a healthcare professional and mention your recent travel or close contact. If you have had close contact2 with someone showing these symptoms who has recently traveled from this area, you should call ahead to a healthcare professional and mention your close contact and their recent travel. Your healthcare professional will work with your state’s public health department and CDC to determine if you need to be tested for 2019-nCoV.

Q: How do you test a person for 2019-nCoV?

A: At this time, diagnostic testing for 2019-nCoV can be conducted only at CDC.

State and local health departments who have identified a person under investigation (PUI) should immediately notify CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to report the PUI and determine whether testing for 2019-nCoV at CDC is indicated. The EOC will assist local/state health departments to collect, store, and ship specimens appropriately to CDC, including during after hours or on weekends/holidays.

Q: What should healthcare professionals and health departments do?

A: For recommendations and guidance on persons under investigation; infection control, including personal protective equipment guidance; home care and isolation; and case investigation, see Information for Healthcare Professionals. For information on specimen collection and shipment, see Information for Laboratories.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

News that refuses to go

“The news media are, for the most part, the bringers of bad news... and it's not entirely the media's fault, bad news gets higher ratings and sells more papers than good news.”

—Peter McWilliams

By Alex P. Vidal

BOTH the local and national news in the Philippines were about the Wuhan coronavirus these past weeks; and there are signs the furor will not leave the front page and prime time news until the next two weeks.

We estimate that the coronavirus story is now occupying ninety percent of the reports in any media entity in the TV, newspaper, radio, Internet.

Since many people are following the story with utmost curiosity and suspense, they think the virus has become a real and present danger that threatens the core of their existence.

Media has the power to either bring sadness or joy to the public.

Since the coronavirus story is largely about fear and death, those who follow it may be wallowing in melancholy and grief even if they have not been directly hit by the pandemic.

As long as the coronavirus remains as the hottest topic globally and nationally, it will be the hottest topic locally.

Controversy sells. 

Media outlets in the Philippines operate heavily from the commercial point of view.

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When the media start to bury the coronavirus story in the middle and inside pages, it’s when the mass hysteria and paranoia of many people will also start to dissipate.

Let’s hope that the death toll being reported from China and other countries affected by the dreaded virus will not bloat in the next days to come. Otherwise it will be coronavirus story in the headlines all over again.

It’s better to report it though and let the people decide and react rather than suppress it and keep everyone in suspended terror and totter in uncertainty.

While the media is focusing on the coronavirus story, let’s not forget other the important news—stories with relevance to our day to day life like prices of basic commodities, rice supply, graft and corruption in government, war against illegal drugs and human rights violations, peace talk, economy,  climate change, etcetera.

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THE latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO) said the international community has launched a US$675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February through to April 2020 to fight further spread of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China and globally, and protect states with weaker health systems.

“My biggest worry is that there are countries today who do not have the systems in place to detect people who have contracted with the virus, even if it were to emerge,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. 

“Urgent support is needed to bolster weak health systems to detect, diagnose and care for people with the virus, to prevent further human to human transmission and protect health workers.”

The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for the new coronavirus has reportedly laid out activities and resources needed by international health organizations globally, including WHO, to implement priority public health measures in support of countries to prepare and respond to nCoV-2019 for a period February-April 2020. The objectives of the plan are to  limit human-to-human transmission of the virus, particularly in countries most vulnerable if they were to face an outbreak; identify, isolate and care for patients early; communicate critical risk and event information; minimize social and economic impact; reduce virus spread from animal sources; and address crucial unknowns.

WHO said the plan focuses on: Rapidly establishing international coordination and operational support; Scaling up country readiness and response operations; and Accelerating priority research and innovation.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

‘Magic’ hospitals for the virus

“A building has integrity just like a man. And just as seldom.”

—Ayn Rand

By Alex P. Vidal

VERA the wailing historian told me in Brooklyn yesterday (February 4) she was amazed by the ability of the Chinese people to build two hospitals in 10 days.

It was reported that Chinese authorities were rushing to build two new hospitals in Wuhan, the city at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak, in a matter of days to help combat the fast-spreading virus.

The outbreak has reportedly strained the resources of Wuhan’s front-line hospital staff, who have been forced to turn patients away because of a lack of beds and basic medical supplies. 

The 1,000-bed Huoshenshan facility was completed and ready to receive patients on Feb. 3, while the second—a 1,600-bed hospital called Leishenshan—was supposed to be ready by Feb. 5, just 10 to 12 days after plans for their construction were first announced.

“It’s the first time that I heard about a hospital being constructed in 10 days,” Vera the wailing historian quipped. “I’m curious how these hospitals look like.”

The hospital is a two-story building consisting of prefabricated units, according to China State Construction Engineering Corp.’s website. Videos and images of construction at the Huoshenshan site began appearing online on Jan. 24, showing dozens of excavators, bulldozers and other earthmoving equipment rushing to level the ground. 

The construction companies then added several layers of matting and poured concrete. 

The hospital units are on pillars to keep them off the ground. The units are made of flat boards that hook together.

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Vera, 86, a half German and half Hungarian, said she admired the government of China “for its efficiency and effectiveness in responding to the need of its people” calling the building of the hospitals as “magic.”

Vera was amazed that two hospitals could be built in 10 days while the United States was to able to rebuild the Twin Towers (destroyed during the 9/11 terroristic attack) for more than 10 years (the ill-fated towers in the World Trade Center is now the One World Trade Center and the tallest building in the U.S.).

Vera the wailing historian added: “I remember the story of a noble dictator whose leadership provides satisfaction to his people while leaders in the free world sometimes can’t finish a simple infrastructure project on time.”

Vera has the habit of wailing each time she discusses the issue on climate change. 

She worries a lot for the planet “because I care a lot for my loved ones who will be left behind when I am gone.”

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We’ve been talking a lot about the Wuhan coronavirus for several days now, but many of us still don’t understand why this “monster” exists and how it survives on this planet.

Can a virus be seen. A virus is the smallest organism that produces disease.

It cannot be seen directly by the ordinary microscope.

But this doesn’t mean that science hasn’t been able to study the structure of a virus.

Today there are ultramicrospcopes that enable these tiny organisms to become visible, according to the Big Book of Tell Me Why.

And science is able to know quite a bit about the sizes and shapes of various types of viruses by means of the electron microscope.

The electron microscope uses beams of electrons instead of rays of light.

The electrons pass through the specimen being observed and strike a photographic plate on which a picture is obtained. In this way, it is possible to magnify an object about 100,000 times.

By using the electron microscope, it has been shown that viruses range in size from about 300 millimicrons to 10 millimicrons.

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What is a millimicron? It is one thousandth of a micron. And a micron is about one twenty-five thousandth of an inch.

Nobody is quite sure yet exactly what viruses are. Some scientists think they are like elementary particles, similar to “genes.” Still others believe viruses are possibly midway between living and nonliving matter.

As far as we know, viruses can grow and reproduce only within living tissue. This means it’s impossible to cultivate then away from living tissue, and it makes it difficult to study their growth habits.

That’s why they are classified by their ability to infect living cells and by the reactions they produce in the body of animals and humans.

Does the virus produce a poison or toxin? 

It is now believed that they do produce toxins, but the toxin and the virus particle cannot be separated. And we still don’t know how these toxins produce disease if they do.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Scary events threaten our life

“Whenever there is a catastrophe, some religious people inevitably ask, 'Why didn't God do something? Where was God when all those people died?'”

—Tony Campolo

By Alex P. Vidal

THERE have only been two dominant and hottest topics at least in the Western Visayas region these past weeks: 1. seizures of illegal drugs and arrest of suspected traffickers; and 2. Wuhan coronavirus.

When we read the newspapers and the Internet, listen to radio, and watch TV’s prime time news, the novel coronavirus topic has refused to move away more than a week after it grabbed headlines around the world. 

It’s “made in China.”

Weeks earlier, we landed on the world map when Taal Volcano threatened to eviscerate from the face of earth a large portion of Luzon. 

The event was “made in the Philippines.”

The Taal uproar wasn’t a joke. It could have actually spelled our doomsday.

We were almost a cinch away from the kingdom come. Underwater volcanoes could spew hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which many scientists think caused the worst mass extinction in history 250 million years ago, which killed 90 percent of all marine species and 70 percent of land animals.

But there’s an upside even to this, according to Popular Science, the world’s largest science and technology founded in 1872: Bacteria and microorganisms thrive in these conditions, so there’s a good chance of life hitting the restart button. 

  

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THE virus attack. How quickly could a single supervirus spread to every single person on earth?

According to Popular Science, if it’s a particularly contagious virus, it would spread across the planet in a year.

“If it starts in New York, it’s going to be in London certainly within a week,” says Ira Longini, a biostatistician at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who uses computer models to analyze how viruses globe-trot. “And from there, it will quickly travel to the rest of North America and Europe.” 

For Longini’s computer forecasts to become reality, though, certain conditions would need to be met.

First, it should be a strain of influenza. As anyone who has suffered through a bout of flu knows, it affects the respiratory tract, so sneezing and coughing make it easy to infect anyone within a radius of three feet (0.9 m). 

The virus must originate in a major city with plenty of airport traffic, to ensure officials are off the trail of the real megabug, says Andrew Pekosz, a virologist and immunologist at John Hopkins University.

The idea seems to freak him out. “With everybody expressing similar symptoms, we’d end up chasing, chasing, chasing, but always being a few steps behind, never really able to interrupt the spread.”

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Aside from volcanic uproar, viruses, super typhoons, tsunami, earthquake, there’s also the fear of asteroid strike, etcetera. Can we survive? 

A quick, disastrous change in earth’s climate could easily our terrestrial party early, according to the Popular Science.

The United Nations (UN)’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that, already, up to 70 percent of disasters worldwide are climate related, affecting about 2.4 billion people over the last decade.

If, as most scientists believe, global warming is set to escalate over the next century, drastic weather events like floods, droughts, and hurricane are likely to become ever more commonplace.

In the worst-case scenarios, this could lead to massive crop failures, shortages of drinking water, and widespread extinctions—including, perhaps, our own.

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Before boarding his flight from Inchon to New York City last night (February 3) via Korean Airlines, Rommel Leal, a Filipino-American who went home last month to watch the Iloilo Dinagyang Festival 2020 in Iloilo City, called me to ask if people here in the Big Apple were wearing the face masks. 

I told him there are few New Yorkers who wear masks but they’re mostly in the Chinatown areas in the Flushing in Queens, Canal in Manhattan, and the Sunset Park in Brooklyn.

Leal said when he left the Philippines, “about 90 percent of the people in Manila were wearing masks.”

“The Filipinos take the coronavirus seriously and they are in a state of panic,” Leal reported. “Many (China and Hong Kong-bound vice versa) flights have been cancelled.”

He promised to buy masks in Inchon and use them here in New York.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

  

More panic, more harm

“Panic causes tunnel vision. Calm acceptance of danger allows us to more easily assess the situation and see the options.”

—Simon Sinek

By Alex P. Vidal

LET’S not be confused and misinformed.

Some cases of death recorded in Philippine hospitals most recently were caused by human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.

It’s the news in the mainstream media. It’s not fake. 

HIV is different from the dreaded virus infected by a droplet from a cough and a sneeze of those who have been infected by the Wuhan virus.

But because we are now agog over the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease or 2019-nCoV ARD, we think all of those deaths were related to the coronavirus.

Even a simple cough caused by our inability to swallow a food or a drink, we attribute it to coronavirus.

Even a harmless sneeze caused by a slight irritant from a bad odor, we think it’s already coronavirus.

Our thinking has been poisoned and infected by an unknown virus which paralyzes our capacity to think, respond and act logically.

We are our worst enemies if we digress from reason and don’t know how to use our cognitive power to properly interpret and fathom issues that concern our well-being.  

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The confusion and paranoia were definitely caused by the public’s panic mood nowadays and exacerbated by the volumes of news about the coronavirus emanating from the foreign media.

What we need to understand is we have the Department of Health (DoH) that has assured the public it has been monitoring all the coronavirus-related cases vigorously, and it has been closely coordinating with various national agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO).

While we need the truth from our health authorities, we must also do our homework religiously while the situation isn’t yet normal and remains unstable.

All we need to do basically is follow the advisory of our health agency, observe proper personal hygiene, wear the face masks (only if necessary, not because everyone is panicking even if they can cover their faces only with handkerchiefs).

We become part of the problem (instead of solution) if we don’t know how to educate ourselves first about these issues.

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We reiterate that the wearing of masks isn’t mandatory as per the DOH advisory.

No need to elbow each other and compete for the last available face mask being distributed or sold like hot cakes in the stores.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III himself has confirmed that the DOH wasn’t yet recommending that the general public wear face masks.

Priority should be given to health workers who are directly dealing with those infected or suspected of having nCoV, the DOH chief said even as he underscored the need for the public to observe prevention measures like frequent hand washing, intake of vitamins especially zinc and practice healthy lifestyle like regular exercise, eating healthy food and getting enough sleep to build up immunity.

Again, a mask should be worn only in three incidents, as per the WHO advisory: if we are providing care to individuals with respiratory symptoms; if we are a health worker and attending to individuals with respiratory symptoms; and if we have respiratory symptoms such as cough or difficulty in breathing.

Let’s make this clear once and for all: the WHO has stated that the general public “need not” wear a mask if they do not have respiratory symptoms.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

   

We worry a lot for nothing

“If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?”

—Confucius

 By Alex P. Vidal

PEOPLE panic because news about the Wuhan coronavirus or 2019 n-COV was sometimes being exaggerated and blown out of proportions like there was an imminent invasion of the extraterrestrial.  

Fear of the unknown makes people think the world will turn upside down.

The mad rush to secure clinical masks to be worn in public wouldn’t have occurred if some incompetent health authorities did not scare the public that the coronavirus had quickly spread in the Philippines.

The truth is the Department of Health (DoH) has already assured the public it was “on top of the evolving situation” in as far as the novel coronavirus is concerned because of its surveillance system and close coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other national agencies.

The more we panic the more we think we have been infected by the virus. 

It’s when we worry a lot that we inflect harm on our own health. 

We get sick not because of the coronavirus, but because of stress and psychosomatic, or a mental factor that causes internal conflict.

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What to do amid the global coronavirus scare is actually to maintain a good hygiene by always washing our hands and taking a regular bath.

Pushing ourselves in a mad scramble to get the masks, I believe, will only be necessary of the DOH has declared that the virus has spread in certain areas.

Even Iloilo first district Rep. Janet Garin, a former DOH secretary, does not believe that wearing a mask can protect a person from being infected by the virus. 

It can help if we also avoid crowded places especially those suspected to be the entry points of tourists from countries with known cases of the dreaded virus.  

Much remains to be understood about 2019-nCoV. 

The source of the outbreak and the extent to which it has spread in China are not yet known, according to the WHO. 

While the current understanding of the disease remains limited, most cases reported to date have been milder, with around 20% of those infected reportedly experiencing severe illness. 

Both WHO and China noted that the number of cases being reported, including those outside China, is deeply concerning. 

Better understanding of the transmissibility and severity of the virus is urgently required to guide other countries on appropriate response measures, according to WHO.

WHO said it is continually monitoring developments and the Director-General can reconvene the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on very short notice as needed. Committee members are on stand-by and are informed regularly of developments.

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EVEN if we suspend international flight arrivals in the Iloilo Airport, nothing can stop the virus from transferring from human to human if there were already warm bodies in Iloilo who have been infected prior to the global scare.

We’re referring to the tourists from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan,  who have already arrived in the country weeks before the spread of the coronavirus reverberated all over the world.

Tourists who had spent their Christmas and New Year holidays in our beaches in Boracay, Palawan, Bohol, Zamboanga, among other tourist destinations in the country.  

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)