Inconvenience from contact-tracing protocol 

By Leonardo Micua

 

FORMER Congressman, now deputy director general of the TESDA (Technical Education Skills and Development Authority) Anecito “John” Bertiz III was a bit late when he graced the program launching of the Skills Solution Training and Assessment Center in Barangay Lucao, Dagupan City Thursday because he had no QR Code when he and his staff entered Dagupan City.

So was LTFRB Regional Director Narusdin Talispan who came all the way from San Fernando, La Union to attend the launching program of that newest TESDA-accredited skills training.

But DG Bertiz cast the delay aside as he confessed to media men, that’s he goes through hassles in Manila when entering public buildings, including Malacanang that requires everyone to take the mandatory nasal/ throat swab protocol to be able to enter.

Now DDG Bertiz’s nostrils and throat already sore because of his frequent trips to Malacanang.

Since DDG Bertiz had no QR Code, his driver was asked to park the car by the roadside where other vehicles had parked before them where a policeman or a traffic enforcer approached them to teach the driver on how to register and access Dagupan QR Code through his mobile phone. It’s the procedure which we understand meant for contact tracing purposes.

The QR Code appears to be the only passport for outsiders to be allowed entry into Dagupan.  While there is no fine imposed yet for those without a QR Code, the inconvenience causes motorists to be late for their appointments. (Those from Pangasinan need only to present their respective IDs when they enter the borders of Dagupan via Calasiao, Binmaley, Mangaldan and San Fabian.

Perhaps, wearing the required face masks and face shields inside vehicles will be enough to be spared the inconvenience.

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On the issue of wearing a face shield, we share the exasperation experienced by our PUNCH colleague Eva Visperas she posted on Facebook after being admonished by a policeman at the border checkpoint between Mangaldan and Dagupan – for not wearing her face shield, on top of her face mask while driving and alone in her white Innova. 

Eva questioned the logic of requiring drivers to wear face shields when they are already wearing face masks because plastic shield only blur one’s vision.  

Netizens, of course, sided with Eva. They know that requiring drivers to still wear face shields, aside from the face masks, especially if they are alone, only add a layer that obstructs the eyesight. 

If this is an order from higher up, it should be reviewed and eventually withdrawn to avoid a vehicular accident. 

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Our photographer, Butch Uka, showed me the photo he took with his mobile phone of a truck that crashed into an electric post (close to the Victory Liner terminal on Perez Boulevard).

The driver of the truck, who was dead on the spot because of the impact, was apparently drunk. His identity was unknown at the time and was still being verified by the police.

Butch phoned me later that the driver that died was a businessman and a scion of a prominent family in Mapandan. According to Butch, the driver was believed to be having a video chat with his wife who was working in Saudi Arabia. He remembered that he was the one who bought their property in Barangay Tapuac.

The moral lesson of this incident is: Don’t video chat with any body when driving… especially when you are drunk.

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The world is now confused especially with the publication of the Great Barrington Declaration signed by more than 6,000 scientists from all over the world that lockdowns of high-risk areas in this time of COVID-19 pandemic are not necessary.  

The scientists declared that keeping lockdown in place until a vaccine is available “will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed”.  

The petitioners, according to Newsweek, included at least 2,826 medical and public scientists, 3,794 medical practitioners and over 6,000 members of the general public.  

The scientists expressed their grave concerns about the impact of damaging physical and mental health due to prevailing COVID-19 policies. 

As an alternative to lockdown, they recommended the adoption of what they called Focused Protection Approach By allowing those who are at minimal risk to live their lives normally to build immunity to the virus, while protecting those who are at higher risk, the elder members of the community.

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