I will not write about the latest issue surrounding a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ Technical Advisory Group, who claimed that several cases of the highly transmissible delta variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) reported in Mindanao were traced to Cebu.
Because what’s the point? Dr. Edsel Salvana has already made up his mind about Cebu.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia came to the Province’s defense and has received some flak on social media. They’re making her out to be anti-science.
Well, I hate to point it out to them that going against a doctor doesn’t automatically make a person “anti-science.”
Like the governor, I also want to know how Cebu suddenly became the source of transmission. And why single out Cebu? Because it had insisted on a swab-upon-arrival policy?
Well, that last bit is all water under the bridge because Cebu has been implementing IATF guidelines for arriving overseas Filipino workers and returning overseas Filipinos since President Duterte said Cebu had to toe the line. Remember?
At any rate, Garcia, during a press conference on Friday night, Aug. 13, 2021, presented data that refuted the doctor’s claims. Among them was a timeline of the delta variant’s arrival to the country. By the way, the facts came from the Department of Health, among other legitimate sources. The governor did not make them up.
So how does that make her anti-science?
Don’t get me wrong. I have a high regard for doctors. We entrust our lives to them. But doctors are people. And people make mistakes. And based on the research conducted by the Province, Salvana may have committed one when he dragged Cebu’s name into the issue.
Mind you, I’m still giving him the benefit of the doubt. And I think so is the governor.
Show proof that Cebu is indeed the source of delta variant cases in Mindanao, the governor said during her press conference. Show proof that Cebu’s swab-upon-arrival policy had anything to do with the spread of the variant.
At any rate, I also understand the sentiment of some of her bashers. Yes, the pandemic is a medical issue. And yes, doctors are the frontline soldiers against Covid-19. But that doesn’t mean theirs is the only and final word on the matter.
If the bashers only watched and listened to Garcia’s press conference last Friday, then they too would want to get to the bottom of things. That way, if there is a problem, then it can be addressed. But it’s apparent they didn’t. Or if they did, they’ve already made up their minds about the governor.