From Covid-19 to dengue, measles, etc

LIFE in the province can be expected to return to a relaxed atmosphere after the Department of Health and the Department of Interior and Local Government confirmed that the country has not reported any positive case of Covid-19 infection since the breakout in China in mid-December 2019.

In fact, this is already palpable in many crowded areas in communities – fewer persons now wear facial masks.  Even fewer passengers in public buses and jeepneys, shoppers in malls, church-goers, vendors and buyers in markets wear the masks.

But lest our people become complacent, all sectors must continue to constantly remind their constituents about the need to wash and clean hands as often as one could because hands are the first parts of the body that catch any virus.

And, as the provincial, municipal and city governments already begin to consider relaxing imposed restrictions on account of Covid-19, they should begin to refocus their attention to the continued resistance of parents to have their children vaccinated.

Amid the Covid-19 scare that has not seen suspected carriers at the very least, cases of dengue, measles and gastroenteritis remain high and are happening weekly.

Per the Provincial Health Office’s last count, there were already 219 dengue cases, 120 cases of measles were reported and 54 children suffered from gastroenteritis. Fortunately, no deaths were reported so far.

These numbers reflect the continued serious threats to innocent lives.

 

Catastrophe

THE central issue now in the ABS-CBN impasse is no longer whether the media giant’s franchise will be renewed or not but the manner by which Congress is treating the matter.  For so long now, the Lower House has adopted a cemetery-like silence, with Pantaleon Alvarez, the committee head tasked to hear the ABS-CBN petition for franchise extension, refusing to budge over calls for him to convene his group for hearings on the subject at hand.  Isn’t Alvarez duty-bound to heed his Constitutional mandate to act without delay in the name of public service?  By his palpable inaction, isn’t Alvarez guilty of dereliction of duty?  The ABS-CBN permit to operate expires on March 30 this year.  Not merely attending to the matter could render nearly 11,000 employees jobless by May 1 without justification.

Are we ready to accept that catastrophe?  Only sadists, if not downright evils, can.

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