‘With less than six months to go before the end of the current administration, we cannot expect any redemption arc from the crop of officials running this country’s pandemic response.’
MOST ordinary folk get triggered by many things these days, especially with the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases, the apparent shortage of over-the-counter medication for fever, colds, and cough, and the continuing lackluster response of the government, but one thing stands out: bringing back face shields.
One masseuse I know (who came back to Metro Manila from her home province a few months back) went on a long rant about face shields. Her main beef with it is that it does not seem to add any additional protection to the wearer, given that the transmission of the coronavirus is largely airborne. She also lamented the financial burden of buying face shields for ordinary Filipinos — “imbes na ipambili ng kape o ng gatas, gagastusin pa sa face shield.” This is the same sentiment echoed by security guards, grocery baggers, and cashiers that I’ve come across.
I asked her if she ever had a reason to get an antigen or PCR test since the pandemic started, and her answer was equally revealing: “Kahit meron, mahirap sa amin ‘yan. Ang mahal. Pag nagkasakit, pirmi na lang sa bahay at magdasal na hindi COVID.” Her sentiment is again, not unique: man on the street interviews done by media since the pandemic began go along the same lines, primarily because of one thing: it’s the hard truth. Same goes with the plastic barriers for jeepneys and motorcycle cabs: just unnecessary expenses for those who do not have much.
Which makes you wonder why most of our policy makers and decision makers seem blind to the reality, or even deaf to the voices of experts across relevant fields about efficient measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. While many are talking about increasing ventilation in establishments, our authorities talk about plexiglass shields and curfews. If I had a peso for every time a government official volunteered “face shields” as a precautionary measure, I’d be wading in cash.
The exchange between Mr. Jose Luis Jimenez (a professor from the University of Colorado and an expert in aerosols, atmospheric chemistry, and disease transmission) and one of the advisers of the task force something or the other over social media was quite instructive about why government is still lagging behind on addressing the recent surge: it fails to listen to the voices of other experts about ventilation (among other things) and treats contrary advice as an attack on all that is holy. Every suggestion is a critique, and politically motivated.
It seems that said government adviser was triggered by Professor Jimenez’s statements on the shared room transmissions of COVID, which was a hot topic of conversation on Twitter over the weekend. Jimenez’s Twitter feed collates a sort of COVID Hall of Shame for inefficient measures implemented by governments and institutions to address the pandemic, pointing out why these measures actually do not address (or even misunderstands) the problem. It’s very enlightening, I encourage everyone to read and learn how these can be implemented in your homes.
Business owners far and wide lament the lack of guidance from government when it comes to adequate ventilation. Truth is, most buildings are closed off and have little open or well-ventilated spaces (we are an aircon inclined landscape, after all.) This is why those selling air purifiers are doing brisk business, while consumers are left to their own devices to research and pick which device suits the purpose. A friend of mine had to research about low velocity high volume industrial fans in a bid to make his small café safer for outdoor dining. Others simply make do with opening windows or doors and using electric fans to get air moving indoors. As with most things, to each his own, yet again.
With less than six months to go before the end of the current administration, we cannot expect any redemption arc from the crop of officials running this country’s pandemic response. The best we can hope for is that we all survive this surge, and that the next administration will be much, much better in earnestly trying to lift everyone from this rut we are all in.
