"We have to put our faith in the ability of our government particularly the DOH to do the right thing."
It is really amazing that although there have been reports of the novel coronavirus infecting people in the country, our Department of Health has not yet confirmed one single case. We do not know how much longer this will last but we can only wish that it stays that way.
Realistically, however, it would just be a matter of time before we have one because of the many tourists still coming and the pace in which the virus is spreading. The important thing is the extent of our preparation on how to deal with it in case the virus gets to our shores. In the many countries where there are already confirmed cases, almost all of those infected either came from China or have gotten in contact with people who came from that country.
Our Department of Health is now currently putting in place stricter protocols for the early detection of possible infected people so that they can be isolated and quarantined. We hope that the government would have done enough to prepare the public on how to act in case of an outbreak like dealing with wild rumors.
The 2019 novel coronavirus appears to be more serious than the SARS virus of 2002 that also started in China. This is because this virus can be transmitted from human to another even if the infected carrier is not yet exhibiting any symptoms. This means that an infected person arriving at our ports of entry can pass our airport screening process undetected because the symptoms have not yet manifested in that individual. This is what apparently happened when one Japanese tourist bus driver was infected by a tourist from China.
The virus also appears to be spreading more rapidly, forcing the Chinese government to take more drastic measures like effectively putting many cities of about 65 million on lockdown.
Like the SARS virus, the novel Coronavirus comes from animals. Ground Zero appears to be an animal meat market in the city of Wuhan where a snake was reportedly sold illegally. There are reports, however, that this may not be the case and health officials are continuing their detective work to pinpoint where the virus originated. Be that as it may, the culinary culture of the Chinese people is a little unusual and would even be considered weird to some people because their love for many exotic food that other people ordinarily would not eat.
This, according to some, is associated with the belief of many Chinese in the medicinal powers of this exotic food.
Like Ebola, the illegal trade in wildlife, if not stopped, has the potential of killing of millions before people can learn to do something to stop the trade. Health officials have estimated that there are about 800 types of virus carried by wildlife that if transmitted to humans could kill so many people.
The World Health Organization has not yet issued an emergency which is shocking considering the way the virus is spreading. According to one medical expert, the virus is currently infecting 1.5 to 3 persons. This is the reason of the faster spread. If one infected person is infecting less than one person, the spread would eventually die out but it does not seem to be the case at the moment.
Right now, we have to put our faith in the ability of our government particularly the DOH to do the right thing and keep the spread of this potential health pandemic from spreading to a level that will cause very serious damage to life and the economy as some are already saying.
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For those of us in the retired uniform service who are trying to grow old as graciously as much as we can, reaching the age of 90 and still be able to socialize, and move around comfortably is a dream many of us would like to achieve. But one of us just celebrated his 90th birthday with a well-deserved big shindig at the Officers Club of Camp General Aguinaldo. Retired Major General Jose Magno Jr. or Joemag as he is more popularly known is one ROTC graduate who made it to high rank in our Armed Forces. A University of the Philippines graduate of 1952, he joined the Philippine Army after graduation eventually being commissioned in the regular force in 1955. He is one of the pioneers of Philippine Army Airborne Special Forces having been recruited to form the nucleus of what would become the First Special Forces Company of the Philippine Army. He is therefore one of the airborne originals. He also served in Vietman.
I first encountered Joemag when I was a junior officer serving in Central Luzon as the Operations Officer of the 51st PC Ranger Battalion. He was then the Battalion Commander of the famous 10th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Pampanga. We were all part of Task Force Lawin fighting the recently organized New People’s Army of the CPP. Unlike today wherein the AFP is the principal operating arm against the CPP/NPA, it was then the Philippine Constabulary that was the primary operating service. I often had to coordinate with his unit in the conduct of military operations so as not to intrude on each other’s operational area and avoid misencounters.
Joemag retired from the military service as the commander of Southcom. He later became the general manager of the Government Service Insurance System. Joemag has always performed in the highest traditions of the military service and is a genuine officer and a gentleman.