WE ARE one with the Department of Health in seeking to arrest the surge in COVID-19 cases. We do not want to reach that point where the progression shifts to clear daily exponential growth in confirmed cases and the collapse of our hospital care systems.
But we could soon have that exponential growth if we do not act faster and more decisive now. It is just a matter of time before matters change for the worse and then really bad.
Government hospitals must be able to test for COVID-19 instead of waiting for results from samples sent to the few testing facilities in Metro Manila.
With the exodus of Metro Manila residents and transients to the provinces, it is only a matter of time before new confirmed cases come up outside of Metro Manila. There is already one in Negros Island – in Negros Oriental to be specific, and this patient died on Sunday.
We understand the difficulty of getting COVID-19 testing kits from overseas and we are aware the ones the University of the Philippines developed are still being field-tested. But health professionals are getting anxious because, with every passing day, more and more people with a history of travel to Metro Manila could be spreading COVID-19 wherever they go.
Can’t the government use its diplomatic connections to source more COVID-19 kits from our friends in Europe, Australia, and Asia whose medical research systems and infrastructure are way more advanced than our own?
The executive department says it has enough funds for purchases. Release them now for the purchase and production of testing kits and related supplies and equipment. Remember, there is yet no known vaccine against COVID-19.
There is another suggestion, although this one is long-term: establishing a national infectious disease microbiology research and testing system with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine at its apex. This microbiology system should be able to build the country’s own epidemiological response and testing capabilities, not just for COVID-19 but for all infectious diseases known and yet to emerge. State universities and colleges with relevant capabilities in biology and the health professions may be involved in this.
COVID-19 will not be the last epidemic to strike and spread in our country. While we quickly scramble for immediate response measures, we must also seize the moment to build the means by which our country can stop the next outbreaks and epidemics.
