“WE HAVE to arm ourselves now. We have to control the reservoir and interrupt transmission (Covid-19).”
This was stressed by Dr. Dolores Rommela Tiples-Ruiz, a guest of honor and speaker of the 82nd Charter Day celebration of Bacolod City Thursday, June 18, 2020, at the Bacolod Government Center.
Ruiz said the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that coronavirus disease (Covid-19) may become an endemic virus in the community, therefore it so here to stay just like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
“We are not scared of HIV/AIDS anymore and people living with HIV can have long, healthy lives. We have to learn to accept changes in our lives, follow advice to ensure safety or our vulnerable loved ones and the entire community as a whole. We have to prevent resurgence,” she said.
She added: “Covid created a drastic socioeconomic and political impact and we cannot remain in quarantine for long. We have to be cautious in going back some degree of normalcy because we can have irreparable damage and consequences.”
Ruiz pointed out that prevention is cheaper than treatment as the virus is killed by soap and water. Cough etiquette and using face masks in public places are essential.
“We have to practice the fundamentals of infection control not only in the hospital but also in our homes. It has to be a way of life, as adults, we have to model responsible behavior to the next generation. Containment measures both in hospitals and the community, more quarantine facilities, strengthening disease surveillance and capacity building,” she said.
Ruiz served as a consultant on Infectious Diseases at Al Moosa Specialist Hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2018; and as an infectious diseases specialist at Bokamoso Private Hospital from 2009 to 2012 and Princess Marina Hospital from 2012 to 2015, both in Gaborone, Botswana. At the same time from 2012 to 2015, she became deputy head of the Department of Internal Medicine at Princess Marina Hospital.
She also currently serves as a consultant on infectious diseases at The Doctors’ Hospital, Adventist Medical Center - Bacolod, Riverside Medical Center, South Bacolod General Hospital, and Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital. She’s also a consultant on infection control in Bacolod and Silay Cities, and president of Pula Negros- HIV Advocacy Group of the Philippine College of Physicians and the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
Ruiz said that her experience regarding the outbreaks in Botswana and Saudi Arabia is that the government having the financial and human resource capability remains to spearhead activities for capacity building.
She said it’s amazing how non-government organizations (NGOs) and private individuals have helped us in this pandemic.
“Therefore, I challenged each and every Bacolodnon to stand up and be vigilant. We shouldn’t be underestimating the virus that does not sleep. We have to work as one community regardless of your affiliation. We have to overcome this pandemic together. It may be that Covid is preparing us for something more devastating,” she added.
For his part, Congressman Greg Gasataya said that under the leadership of Mayor Evelio Leonardia and the city officials, the city was able to fight the spread of Covid-19 despite the population and density of the city.
“This year, it is a bit different due to the unseen enemy we are facing, but our good Mayor Leonardia, Vice Mayor Familiaran, and hardworking City Council, took their time to celebrate the birth of the City of Smiles and the bright future forefathers worked so hard for-to celebrate the day when 82 years ago, then-president Manuel L. Quezon signed Commonwealth Act. No. 326, the Charter Day of the City of Bacolod, into law, with the hope that this small rural community in the middle of sugarcane fields leading the province of Negros will become a bustling city known across the globe for its strength, beauty, and most of all resilience,” he said.
He added: “as we face this pandemic, may we recognize that our story as a city does not end with the creation of our charter, the expulsion of tyrants and colonizers, and our fight for our backbone industry, it is a story that needs to be worked on and fought for every single day. Covid-19 has made many of our people, especially the poor, vulnerable. But we are united. The history of our city has taught us that when Bacolenos are united if we speak in one voice. If we move and help each other as one, there is nothing in this world that we cannot overcome. We will continue to work to protect and uplift those who are vulnerable.”
Leonardia said: “one thing that we can be very proud of it in Bacolod and the reason why we had treated Covid-19, as of this moment, manageable, it’s because it’s not only the mayor is working, but I have with me the vice mayor, the congressman and the City Council who are working together to fight Covid-19.”
“With this for sure, we are going to survive. If Bacolod was a settlement then it became a village, town, it became a city or highly urbanized city, after the coronavirus let us make this a super city,” he said.
He added: “all together on this occasion, let us put in our mind together we will make Bacolod City great again.”