The message, said an expert advice, is we should not wait.
A new study by disease modelers at the University of Texas (Austin) says even counties with just a single reported case have more than 50-percent likelihood that a sustained undetected outbreak is already taking place.
Many state officials, the study said, are watching until there is clear evidence of the epidemic before taking action.
————————-Here at home, our officials, led by President Duterte, were much ahead of those in other countries, like the United States, in standing up to the pandemic.
Mr. Duterte has also extended the lockdown in Luzon until April 30, from the original April 12 cutoff.
US President Donald Trump initially downplayed the coronavirus epidemic, swearing it would dissipate by itself.
Now that he has been beaten down on his knees, Trump has been pushing frantically for an untested drug, against advice from medical experts.
————————-It’s a question of waiting or pushing ahead, depending on the local situation.
In Metro Manila, the situation for countless poor workers crippled by the lockdown has ironically grown into a forced one-sided waiting game.
In yesterday’s morning interview on GMA 7, Zeny Maranan, head of the lead national jeepney drivers association Fejodap, detailed the horrible fate of her countless members who, she claimed, have not gotten help from the national amelioration program of the Duterte government.
————————-There’s widespread distress and displeasure due to various discrepancies, including local officials allegedly discriminating against alienated citizens in their respective localities.As this developed, the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), supervisory body of professional sports in the country, said the Department of Social Welfare and Development has responded positively to a plea that professional boxers, martial arts practitioners, including trainers and managers, be granted assistance thru the social amelioration program.
GAB Chair Abraham Mitra, who has submitted a list of 1,133 beneficiaries, has thanked authorities after he was assured his needy group would soon be getting their due.
As for the thousands of jeepney drivers who have been stalled by the Luzon lockdown, It’s still a painful waiting game.
There’s no promise of relief as the Luzon lockdown heads to an extension, with authorities unsure of where to get the funds for the emergency. INQ