Following its initial outbreak in December, the COVID-19 virus has claimed over 126,681 lives, with recorded deaths more than the SARS and MERS viruses. There are recorded 1,981,239 cases and 486,622 recoveries of the COVID-19 globally to date. Health officials around the world are in a tight race to quickly understand the virus and eventually develop a cure. In the meantime, stringent public health measures have been put in place in order to contain the spread.
General updates on COVID-19
Since the initial outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm on the virus and officially dubbed it as COVID-19 last February 11. Because the virus has caused illness (leading to death) and sustained person-to-person spread it is now classified as a pandemic. Health authorities encourage individuals to prevent infection through proper hygiene, regular handwashing, covering mouth and nose, cooking meats thoroughly, and maintaining a respectable distance in public spheres. How the countries will respond in the coming weeks will be critical in influencing the trajectory of this highly contagious disease. The goal is to flatten the curve to a number that can be managed by each country’s health care system. The basis and figures of mortality and healthcare demand are based on data from China and other high-income countries. Hence, differences in healthcare system capacity will likely result in different patterns especially for low income third world countries like the Philippines.
Effects on the Philippines
Within the Philippines, there are 5,453 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 349 deaths and 353 recoveries. The Department of Health cited their strong surveillance, assessment, and management measures in the decreasing trend of patients under investigation (PUI). Local government units are allotting quarantine facilities to accommodate the increasing number of PUIs. Relief goods and financial assistance are being given to the barangays, prioritizing the marginalized sector of the community. The government also launched a social amelioration program to provide financial assistance to low income families.
A negative effect of the pandemic, especially during the initial panic, has been the bulk buying and price gouging of face masks. Government officials have urged citizens and distributors against the unlawful economic practice and requested that manufacturers increase their production to meet demand. Furthermore, the Philippine economy is projected to take a P42.9 billion hit for the months of February, March, and April due to the lost revenue from Chinese travelers. The loss in revenue is particularly felt by major airlines as many potential tourists from Europe, Australia, the United States, Japan, and Korea have also cancelled their bookings.
Impact on the international community
The pandemic had made significant waves on the international community, reverberating strongly especially in terms of economics. China’s neighbor, Russia has sustained a 1 billion roubles ($15.7 m) loss a day in trade. Similarly, many other southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam are also experiencing the loss of billions of dollars due to the lack of Chinese tourists. Even Singapore’s has taken a hit with the government rolling out a series of support packages worth $4 billion to stimulate businesses.
Mitigation strategies focusing on shielding the elderly while slowing down transmission could reduce the projected fatalities to half, saving over 20 million lives. But even in this scenario, it was projected that health systems in all countries will still be quickly overwhelmed. Personalized interventions per country are being implemented in order to balance the effect of lockdowns not just to individuals but to major players in business that propels a country’s economy.
The outbreak remains an imminent threat globally prompting many countries to exercise caution and enact preventative measures. To reduce growth in cases, governments have moved to stricter social distancing, with “shelter in place” orders in many areas in the U.S., Europe, India, and other countries. Some Asian counties like China kept incremental cases low and manageable and are restarting economies. However, European countries and the US are experiencing a rapid surge of cases by the day. Scaled up testing will soon clarify the extent and distribution of the spread in the U.S., and Europe. Some best practices that worked for other countries include: strict social distancing rules, drive through testing, availability of off-the-shelf drugs that can address mild cases, and telemedicine that connected health practitioners to potential and current infected patients. Governments must remain up to their feet to deploy adequate public-health responses, and meet demand drawdowns with strategic economic interventions.
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