Dealing with Covid-19 scare

By Modesto P. Sa-onoy

Feedbacks on the series on the pandemic and the claim of doctors that they can treat the virus infection has generated interest. On the other hand, feedbacks show that many in Bacolod are critical of the way the city authorities manage the problem. The feedbacks even consider the response of the city as one reason for the increase in the infection.

Local officials can respond but I doubt they would because they might open a barrel of more discontent and criticism if not accusations like what they were purchasing, how much, the names of suppliers, and the contractors and equipping of isolation facilities.

These suspicions arise because a lot of people have lost faith in the integrity of city officials, a sad state indeed, but as the saying goes, people deserve the kind of government they vote into office.

For over two weeks, the refrain from the critics deals on the situation in the isolation facilities. It was bruited by the government that being in these facilities is like “taking a paid vacation” with “excellent facilities.”

They are hardly excellent and if excellence is to be said, then the isolation is one bet to get the patients in the worst condition. Photos of the isolation facilities show a sorry state that, as one feedback says, could be one reason for the spike in the viral infections in Bacolod, now in the top-notch in the region.

Why are people, even if tested positive, did not like to go to the isolation facilities? One former “inmate” said they got a kit for soap and some personal items plus meals but they had no medicine or vitamins. They were there just to be segregated. After being a guest of the government for 12 days and tested negative, they were sent home.

They may come out negative but the way they are housed chances of infection are high. If one adds stress and depression, the formula for its spread is higher than when kept at home.

Here is the experience of one family by a credible source. On August 2 the entire household tested negative but when they were tested again (August 4) they were positive.

There were 8 of them that were tested positive. The father is 84 years old, asthmatic, hypertensive and survivor of 2 heart attacks. The mother is 82 years old, a dialysis patient. The other 6 have their own health problems but have maintenance medicines.

They did not go into the isolation wards or the hospital. They just increased their vitamin C intake from 500 mg to 2-3k and basked in the sun. They applied what is common sense, tried whatever they had and prayed as never before.

This might be an exemption but people can do what the government is not doing – teaching people how to survive using what they had rather than insisting merely on face masks, face shield, social distancing, quarantine, etc. The government tells people to stay home but not what people can do at home as the family cited above did.

Fortunately the internet has plenty of movies, shows, chats, and games. There are people who now find time to cook and read.

The feedbacks on homeschooling is as expected. Private schools are “teaching” their students through a module. Parents are complaining because while they pay tuition the main bulk of teaching their kids has fallen on their laps. They are not trained for this kind of work and had to scramble like their kids. Parents without house helpers are the most stressed – helping two or three kids and prepare food for the family. They complain of paying for books that are not used.

Dr. John Ledesma, my doctor par excellence, went on social media about his patient who did not tell him that he was Covid-19 positive. That patient placed him and his staff in grave danger. Thank God, Dr. Ledesma and staff were tested negative. His point is: people should not lie.

But the interesting report is the zoom session of the Bacolod council. A motion to ask the Budget office to submit a liquidation report of the first P119 Bayanihan aid package had no support. The councilors do not want to know how the P119M was spent. Why? Bayanihan 2 is coming.