Sunday, February 21, 2021

Too early, experts say of recommendation to ease curbs. Inquirer Newsletter. February 22, 2021.

‘WORST IN LOCAL HISTORY’ Houses in Tandag City lie submerged in floodwaters on Sunday as incessant rain brought by Tropical Storm “Auring” (international name: Dujuan) swells the Tandag River, inundating towns and cities in Surigao del Sur province. —ERWIN MASCARIÑAS

Board Talk

Mapping digital poverty in PH

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated existing inequalities accentuated by the widening of the digital divide. As the pandemic continues to reinforce the need for social distancing and continued lockdowns, the need for quality digital access and connectivity that is efficient, inclusive and sustainable—where users including the poor and marginalized have access to sufficient internet connection even in remote areas—has increased in importance. —Story by Stephanie Sy, Anica Araneta, Hanif Rahemtulla, Bruno Carrasco, and Stella Balgos

Regions

Cebu drops swab test requirement for tourists

Cebu will no longer require swab tests for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from visitors entering the province, bucking the strict measure imposed by practically all other local governments in the country. —Story by Dale G. Israel

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Banner Story

Too early, experts say of recommendation to ease curbs

By Maricar Cinco

Health experts on Sunday cautioned the government against easing to the lowest level coronavirus curbs throughout the country, especially in Metro Manila, after an independent research group last week reported a slight upward trend in COVID-19 cases in the metropolis, with a variant of the virus possibly causing the spike.

Metro Manila and much of the country are under strict general community quarantine, but the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has recommended downgrading the curbs to modified general community quarantine to allow the reopening of up to 95 percent of the economy and pull the country out of recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 17 mayors of Metro Manila have also voted to ease the restrictions, but decided to allow only people 15 to 65 years old to go out. They have recommended the change to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and President Duterte is expected to announce his decision on Monday.

Vaccinations first

But the independent OCTA Research Group that advises the government on the coronavirus response believes the step is premature.

At the minimum, Dr. Guido David of OCTA said health-care and other front-line workers with active public interaction, like police and security guards, must be vaccinated first.

Not a single health-care worker in the Philippines has received the COVID-19 vaccine yet, as paperwork has delayed deliveries of vaccines from the procurement pool Covax and from China.

“It is too early at this point. New variants [of the coronavirus have been] detected and we don’t know yet the extent of [their] presence, [while] our cases have not gone down to less than 1,000 [daily],” said Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious disease expert at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

“It looks premature to relax [the restrictions]. From the public health perspective, study [the proposal] more carefully,” David said. —WITH REPORTS FROM BEN O. DE VERA AND KATRINA HALLARE INQ

Editorial

Deeper and deeper into debt

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced nearly all countries to borrow to finance the unprogrammed expenditures arising from the social impact of the health crisis, specifically health-related costs for those who contracted the disease and financial assistance to the millions who lost their jobs as economies reeled from a global business slowdown.

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net