Light at the end of the tunnel

"As usual, we resilient Filipinos will overcome."

Philippine stock market traders must be seeing a flickering light beyond the mounting numbers of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the country, now totaling 143,749.

A rather gainful day of trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange Wednesday ended in a reversal of fortune, a comeback win from the previous month’s losses.

This indicated growing investor confidence despite the constantly increasing cases of COVID-19 infections.

This developed in the wake of reports quoting MalacaÅ„ang assuring the National Capital Region’s return to General Community Quarantine (GCQ), and resumption of business activities within a few days.

Why is the government keen on opening up the economy after August 18?

The actual 72,348 active cases of COVID-19 are only 50.33 percent of the total 143,749 confirmed cases reported in the country as of Wednesday August 12, 2020.

The death toll of 2,404 is a nil 1.67 percent of the total confirmed cases. 

It is noteworthy that the number of COVID-19 patient recoveries has reached 68,997, which is an impressive 48 percent of the total cases, just a tad lower than the actual active cases.

According to the Department of Health, 91.3 percent of active cases are “mild cases.”

Metro Manila’s 72,052 total cases, of which over 35,000 have recovered, is still less than one percent of its 13 million population.

As I’ve said before, the number of recoveries is quite encouraging. This very clearly means that COVID-19 is after all a curable or treatable disease.

But the magic word that took everyone by storm is the “vaccine,” different versions of which are being developed by doctors, experts and scientists in different countries in a race against the further spread of the coronavirus that has sickened 20.5 million people and claimed the lives of 746,000 worldwide.

President Duterte has announced his willingness to be inoculated with a vaccine against the COVID-19 developed by Russia as soon as it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health (DoH).

In so doing, he would be among 1,000 healthy Filipinos prepared to receive the first doses of Russia's coronavirus vaccine by September if the Philippines seals the deal with the manufacturers of "Sputnik V."

China has also pledged to give priority to the Philippines once it develops a vaccine for the coronavirus, President Duterte announced during his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Other anti-COVID vaccines are in the trial stages in Japan, Indonesia and Singapore.

In another development, the FDA has approved the use of Chinese herbal medicine Lian Hua Qing Wen for treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19 cases, the Chinese Embassy in Manila announced on Wednesday.

Lian Hua Qingwen capsule is produced by one of China’s renowned Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) manufacturers, Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., making the drug formally registered as TCM in the Philippines.

It is an approved COVID-19 treatment for mild and moderate cases in China and has also been officially in use in Hong Kong and Macao SAR of China, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Mozambique, Romania, Thailand, Ecuador, Singapore, and Laos PDR.

We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Although we will have to contend with the widespread poverty, joblessness, and bankruptcy caused by the pandemic, we will overcome in the fashion that resilient Filipinos always have.

I believe in my heart that we will heal as one.

Meanwhile, a young girl whose little prayer I shared with you five months ago to plead to God Almighty for the discovery of a vaccine to stop COVID-19 is now battling dengue at a rural clinic in Calinan, Davao City. 

Please join me in prayer for Dastine Danielle Sevilla’s early recovery.