THE Pangasinan provincial government is reeling from the sudden surge of COVID-19 infection over the past two weeks after seeing indicators that flattening of the curve soon is possible. There were more patients recovering than new active cases.

But that was short-lived. The roof fell soon as Delta cases were detected in the province.

In contrast, the situation in Dagupan City is different. There has been no letup in active cases increasing by the week and except in efforts to meet target rate of vaccination, there were no efforts to blunt the weekly surge.

The only encouraging effort in both Pangasinan and Dagupan City’s campaign is clearly the effective treatment protocol employed by government and private hospitals.  But that’s the curative phase.  The surges are indicative of the minimal efforts employed for the preventive phase.

There were no indications of consistent serious and strict enforcement of the basic health and distancing protocols in the towns and cities. In brief, there was hardly any focus on preventive measures, just detection and treatment. Without visible signs of daily arrests and imposition of  prescribed penalties for violations, complacency was inevitable.  Rapid infection was the natural consequence.

Hence, until the provincial, town/city governments shift their focus, from treatment to prevention, the surge will continue and communities will have to face more serious risks with each week that new variants are detected.

One fact is clear – Prevention cannot depend on vaccination alone since efficacies are short term. The effective prevention lies in seriously organizing for the strict enforcement of the health protocols.

Lacson-Sotto fires first shot

BY declaring their bid for the May 2022 election on Sept. 8, Senators Panfilo  Lacson and Vicente Sotto III fired the first shot for the highest positions in the land. Lacson for president.  Sotto for vice president.  There were no bombastic speeches.  No frills and fanfare.  Just shooting it straight.  But it was impactful.  “Ito ang Simula” (This is The Start) was the tandem’s battle cry.  They were endorsed by Renato de Villa, the former defense secretary, and Pantaleon Alvarez, the former House speaker.  Lacson said between him and Sotto are “more than 80 years of honest public service.”  Sotto said “enough is enough” of ineptness in governance.  It was the simplest political public pitch ever as the taped event lasted only 30 minutes.  An adage says, “The early bird gets the first worm.”  Will it ring true to the Lacson-Sotto alliance?  Only time can tell.

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