Saturday, September 19, 2020

1-meter distancing stays; docs approve. Inquirer Newsletter. September 20, 2020

NEW HOME Ruel “Kulot” Bernardino tends to some of the 11 horses rescued from Taal Volcano Island following its eruption on Jan. 12. The all-around handyman and caretaker of farm owner Sherwin Mendoza said his employer bought them from owners who were forced to evacuate the island. The work animals now reside in his farm in Barangay Ambulong, Tanauan City, Batangas province. —LYN RILLON

News

BSP greenlights loan payment moratorium

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has ordered banks and financial institutions to give a 60-day reprieve on loan payments as required by the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act. —Story by Daxim L. Lucas

World

Ginsburg death sets off battle for tribunal seat

WASHINGTON—The death of the iconic Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg allows US President Donald Trump to expand the high court’s conservative majority, but Joe Biden insists on waiting for the polls. —Story by Reuters

To Be You

‘Alab ng Puso’: Youths’ POV on pandemic life

What started out as a minimagazine has evolved into an artful book that gives everyone a chance to see the pandemic from the eyes of young people. —Story by Pam Pastor

Read full story: https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/370985/alab-ng-puso-youths-pov-on-pandemic-life/

Lifestyle

‘I used to be a plant killer . . .’

If you’re one of those people who are afraid to grow plants during the pandemic because you don’t know if you can make them survive long, take heart. —Story by Ruth L. Navarra

Read full story: https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/370826/i-used-to-be-a-plant-killer/

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1-meter distancing stays; docs approve

By the Inquirer Staff

President Duterte has decided to retain the 1-meter physical distancing requirement for passengers on public utility vehicles (PUVs), drawing praise from health professionals who said the decision would help prevent at least 700 new coronavirus infections and at least seven deaths daily.

“The President’s decision is to keep the 1-meter social distancing in public transportation,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced on state-owned PTV4 on Saturday, effectively suspending the contentious new policy that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) wanted to implement last week.

The DOTr wanted to reduce the social distancing rule in a bid to increase the capacity of public transportation, make it faster for people to report for work and revive an economy in recession, but the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) countered “that reviving the economy and protecting lives must go hand in hand in our COVID-19 response.”

Other options available
“Reducing physical distancing is not our only option to address transportation shortage,” HPAAC said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the group hopes the 1-meter requirement would remain in place “until the situation becomes more favorable.”

HPAAC recommended that, instead of tweaking measures proven to curb the spread of COVID-19, the government should facilitate transportation service contracting and give incentives and subsidies to PUV operators.

More bicycle lanes and walkways should also be put in place and staggered work hours should be implemented in select businesses to help reduce congestion, the group added.

HPAAC, a coalition of over 160 medical societies, estimated that even with the implementation of preventive measures, such as the wearing of masks and face shields, there will be at least 700 new Covid-19 cases daily if physical distancing on public transport is reduced to 0.75 meters as prescribed by the new DOTR policy.

This means that the government would have to ramp up its manpower for contact tracing to look for 25,000 more individuals.

Given how the disease affects patients, 140 of the 700 new infections may require hospitalization, seven of which would result in deaths.

“These figures are based on conservative assumptions, and the real picture could be worse,” HPAAC said.

PH cases reach 283,460
On Saturday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,962 new cases, pushing the national tally to 283,460.

Metro Manila still accounted for most of the new infections with 1,440 cases, followed by Bulacan (354), Cavite (287), Laguna (222) and Batangas (213).
A total 209,885 patients have recovered from COVID-19, with 1,128 new recoveries.

The death toll rose to 4,930, with 100 more patients succumbing to the severe respiratory disease.

That tallies a total of 68,645 active cases, of which 87.4 percent are mild, 9 percent asymptomatic, 1.1 percent severe and 2.5 percent critical.
The DOTr said it would strictly enforce the decision of President Duterte to retain the 1-meter gap between passengers.

Trains and ferries can easily revert to that rule, the DOTr said, but the capacity of other land vehicles, such as jeepneys and buses, will have to be reduced further because the current practice of spacing passengers one seat apart does not equate to 1-meter distancing.

New guidelines readied
“It doesn’t make sense to allow PUVs to separate passengers one seat apart while trains and maritime vessels are required to enforce 1-meter physical distancing,” Assistant Transportation Secretary Goddes Libiran explained, adding that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) would be releasing new guidelines on the matter.

The LTFRB has so far allowed about 69,000 PUVs to operate in areas under general community quarantine, including 24,295 regular buses, P2P (point-to-point) buses, UV Express units and jeepneys allowed to ply a total of 378 reopened routes.

Of this number, around 18,000 conventional and “modernized” public utility jeepneys were allowed to ply 251 reopened routes.

Also authorized to resume operations were 20,891 taxicabs and 23,898 vehicles that can be booked via ride-sharing apps.

Disagreements
The DOTR’s move to reduce the distance between passengers was met with opposition, as even top administration officials disagreed among themselves on the wisdom of the new rule.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade maintained that the proposal was intended to help more people get to work in line with efforts to revive the economy after months on lockdown, but Interior Secretary Eduardo Año noted that medical experts were not consulted about it.

Metro Manila mayors also expressed their disapproval and even doctors differed on their views, with some saying it was not so much the distance as the wearing of face masks and shields, and avoiding talking that would prevent transmission of the virus. —Jovic Yee, Leila B. Salaverria and Mariejo S. Ramos

Editorial

Mistreating contact tracers

What a shocker—but then again, maybe not: The Department of Health, according to reports, has failed to pay many of the contact tracers it hired under the COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Unit of the Epidemiology Bureau—and some of them have contracts ending this month. It's been three to four months of unpaid toil for these workers who are risking their lives at the front lines, doing arduous work essential to any serious effort to curb the pandemic. Many of the contact tracers took the contractual job amid a recession that has seen more than 7 million unemployed Filipinos, hoping to eke out a living despite the particular risks involved in the assignment. That they remain without compensation for months now represents cruel, criminal neglect on the part of the government.

As the likes of Taiwan and South Korea have shown, contact tracers are a critical component in the fight against COVID-19. The information they obtain helps track the virus' spread and, along with prompt testing and treatment, prevents more infections among the populace. But, with the government mistreating contact tracers the way it has shabbily treated nurses and other front-line workers, is it any surprise that few are keen to be hired for work where scarce protection equipment, grueling working conditions, and, worse, delayed salaries and hazard pay are the infuriating norm?

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net