"This is the right way to do it."
"This is the right way to do it."
Having arrested the spread of the dreaded coronavirus in their respected areas, with some of them even registering zero infection since Day One of the pandemic, 57 provinces will have a relaxed or specifically, a general community quarantine starting the first day of May.
As such, selected business establishment will be allowed to resume operations as workers will be allowed to go out and work in phases.
For those which will be under the GCQ, malls will be allowed to operate but limited to non-leisure shops. Mandatory temperature check, mandatory wearing of masks, mandatory alcohol use will still be imposed. Also, the number of people who will be allowed to go inside the malls will be strictly limited with only those aged 21 to 59, with identification cards or IDs and not looking sickly, to be admitted inside.
Priority and essential construction projects will likewise be allowed to resume, subject to minimum health standards, physical distancing, and barracks for workers.
Public transport modes will be allowed to operate at reduced capacity. Local government units will enforce curfew at night for non-workers.
As added precautionary measure, young people, senior citizens and others facing high health risks will still be not allowed to go out of their homes.
One of those provinces which will enjoy a relaxed quarantine will be Eastern Samar which had successfully avoided getting even a single constituent at the time the quarantine was put in place, infected. But even as of this early, Provincial Governor Ben Evardone has already made it clear they are not yet about to celebrate their “newfound freedom” when the clock strikes zero hour on May 1. In fact, he has even upped the ante, declaring the extension of President Rodrigo Duterte’s order of GCQ until May 30, by 15 more days.
“We welcome this decision of President Duterte because it is for the best interest of everybody if we do not let our guard down in this fight against COVID-19,” says Evardone.
While there is a noticeable improvement in the situation on COVID-19, the Eastern Samar governor says everyone, not only those in the newly-designated GCQ, have to make sure that there will be no resurgence of new infections, especially in Metro Manila.
Thus, on the part of Eastern Samar, Evardone says they will be extending their general community quarantine up to May 30 to enable them to prepare for the possible influx of their returning kababayans from Luzon after May 15.
“Since we cannot reject our kababayans from returning to our province, we will have to accommodate them but they will undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 in isolation areas in their respective municipalities,”Evardone avers.
That, according to him, will ensure early detection, isolation and treatment of possible COVID- positive persons. At the same time, he assures that everyone who will be subjected to quarantine, isolation or treatment, will be properly monitored by provincial, municipal and barangay health personnel to see to it that health protocols are observed.
Actually, that’s the right move and should be adopted by everyone else. We cannot simply relax once we achieve zero infection. For the last one who got infected on the last day an infection was reported, could have infected another person, and that newly-infected person, could go around, infecting some more people without knowing it as it would take up to 14 days before the symptoms could show up.
And that could result to a disastrous second wave. We pray not. And we hope all those concerned could follow the Evardone program.
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We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to a small group of doctors, nurses, paramedics and dentists who, aside from extending their services as frontliners, banded together to produce needed personal protective equipment.
Led by Dr. Marilou Sembrano of the University of the Philippines College of Dentistry Batch 1985, Dr. Candids Patrice Reyes, UP College of Dentistry Batch 2000; and Dr. Mary Haines Monjardin, Manila Central University College of Dentistry Batch 2000, they engaged the services of Monjardin’s tailoring shop for free to produce PPE which was distributed to no less than 70 hospitals in Metro Manila, both government and private.
According to Sembrano’s post in her social media account, they were able to raise P532,233 from donations from their friends in the Philippines and the United States, which they used to procure materials which were sewn by Monjardin’s staff. Monjardin, incidentally, is also a visual artist.
The challenge, according to Sembrano, was on the effectiveness of the suit material and design, since the materials were locally sourced.
“It was not medical-grade—it just had to be water-repellant enough to provide some form of protection from aerosols. We were apprehensive as we submitted the suit for approval,” according to Sembrano.
Their apprehension turned to joy when the suits gained approval from their colleagues.
“We are touched beyond words as we realize this small act of kindness can bring out so much happiness from the giver and the receiver. These past weeks will leave bittersweet memories for us. May your participation in this cause leave you with the fondest thoughts of hope, gratitude, and love,” Sembrano wrote in her social media account.
Aside from the 2,155 coveralls and 300 isolation gowns, Sembrano’s group also donated 20 gallons of alcohol and 105 boxes of examination gloves.
In behalf of the people being protected and taken care of by the frontliners, thank you Dr. Sembrano and your group.