THE mayors of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu are probably doing the right thing.
“Probably” has earned its place in that sentence. One of the few certainties the COVID-19 pandemic has offered us is that no one can truly say they know the right way forward.
The best anyone can do is make the most informed guess possible, given the knowledge available at the time. Hence, “probably.”
The decision by Mayors Edgardo Labella, Jonas Cortes, and Junard Chan to maintain enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until the end of May appears to be unpopular. Workers who have not had a chance to work and have run out of paid leave credits are raring to get back to their jobs. Some business owners who are hurting from the plunge in demand and the changes in consumption patterns are eager to get back on track.
Yet the decision the three mayors have made is consistent with what most of the medical community has prescribed. No matter how fast the number of positive cases rises, the likely reality is that these numbers are underreported.
There are two reasons for that.
First, in the vast majority of countries, testing remains very limited. Second, many persons who turned out to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 did not show any symptoms at all. In some studies, that number has been pegged at eight out of every 10. They may have spread the virus to others—loved ones, frontline workers like security and health personnel, and colleagues—even if they themselves never even had the sniffles.
In this situation, it is best to err on the side of caution. The three mayors are taking a political risk but doing the right thing in putting public health and safety first.
What’s even better is that they’ve managed to act in a more coordinated way, which was not always the case when the quarantine began. One of the challenges since ECQ started last March 28—and the borders between Cebu’s cities and towns tightened—has been to compare the requirements set by Cebu Province and the different cities and towns.
Comparing them gave one a glimpse of what each local chief executive held as the highest priority—as well as the many competing pressures that, behind closed doors, may have been placed on their shoulders.
It was also good to be reminded of how interdependent Metro Cebu’s cities have become.
So many of our challenges are shared challenges. Traffic congestion, insufficient public transport, waste management, pollution, the lack of affordable housing, an aging public infrastructure: these are all challenges that Cebu’s communities would have a better chance of addressing if we worked together more consistently. Here’s hoping this pandemic will have driven that lesson home.
One development that one also hopes will happen is that public leaders with a strong platform in health will get the recognition and support they deserve. One of the emerging theories is that countries where BCG anti-tuberculosis vaccinations have been required will probably (that word again) fare better than richer countries where that has not been the case.
It’s encouraging to think that a low-key public health program that’s been in place for nearly 45 years in the Philippines may yet help us weather the COVID-19 storm. Of course, it’s never a good idea to get complacent. Too much remains unknown about this pandemic. It’s too soon to relax our guard.
But once all this is over, we’ll need to remind ourselves and those who govern us to keep up, if not increase, investments in public health facilities and services. And let’s continue to support public leaders, whether appointed or elected, who clearly place public health first.