Editorial: Are we ready?

(Editorial Cartoon by Josua Cabrera)
(Editorial Cartoon by Josua Cabrera)

AS of 12 noon Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2020, the novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV) has killed 106 people and infected more than 4,500. The mutant virus has spread in 14 countries. The National Health Commission of China reported that from Jan. 16 to 28, the number of infection cases spiked from 45 to 4,515, that’s like wildfire wolfing acres of vegetation. Data visualization of the epidemic shows a volume of concentration quickly spreading in the southwestern part of China with some spots in Africa, Europe, North America. And that’s only roughly over a month yet.

The earliest case surfaced in the first week of December 2019. On Dec. 31, China reported to the World Health Organization 27 cases of “penumonia of unknown cause.” Most of those were stallholders from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. That made doctors believe the virus was acquired from animals.

At that time, there was no evidence yet of a human-to-human transmission. Recently, experts reported that the mutant virus marks the third time in 20 years that a member of the expansive family of coronaviruses had leaped from animals to humans and ignited an epidemic. While the outbreak had clearly showed human transmission, recent observation shows that the virus can still be carried by persons not showing symptoms of infection.

These bits of information further stoke our fears. The animal-human leap of the virus inspires an imagined future where animals and humans may be sharing illnesses. On the other hand, the observation that healthy-looking persons can still be carriers of the virus renders our quarantine practice of thermal scanners in our cities’ portals ineffective. It leaves our gates porous and allows the virus to surreptitiously tuck itself into the populace.

If, God forbid, the mutant passes through and an outbreak hits us, just what sort of scenario can we imagine? Much of government’s focus has been on the preventive side, and that’s commendable. It’s only right that emphasis is in the right places. However, it also leaves us asking the what-ifs. Just how ready are we to deal with an outbreak? Are we set to deploy all the contingencies in dealing with a surge in hospital cases?

China had built a 1,000-bed capacity in six days in Wuhan in its bid to race against the outbreak. Another facility will be finished next week.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health has identified 27 people under investigation (PUI) as of Tuesday, Jan. 28. Of the 27, three were cleared, found to be positive only of other diseases. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the DOH is awaiting the results of the 18 PUIs from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for screening, and six PUI test results from the Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory for confirmation.

Will confirmatory tests of the 2019-nCoV be available locally soon? If not, imagine the slow process of verifying cases when the number of PUIs suddenly increases. It may help if government also addresses concerns beyond the preventive.

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