Bracing for the inevitable
The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant first detected in India is here in the country. As of Friday, July 16, 2021, we have 35 cases of the variant, 16 of which are new cases, while 11 are local transmissions. One infected with the variant has reportedly died.
The Delta variant is 60% more transmissible and is likely to increase hospitalization. We have seen how the variant ravaged India, and now Indonesia has become the COVID-19 epicenter with record high cases of infection and deaths in a day.
An official of the Department of Health (DOH) describes the variant’s breaching our border despite tight controls as “the inevitable” as the variant is present in 111 countries worldwide. As this develops, the DOH has activated its four-door strategy. Doors 1 and 2 accordingly have been implemented, and these refer to strengthening border controls. Doors 3 and 4 are now being activated. DOH says that Door 3 would involve strengthening the Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR) while Door 4 is ensuring that the country’s healthcare capacity is ready for a possible surge.
Experience shows that Doors 3 and 4 are the most challenging for the country to implement. Contact tracing has not improved much since the pandemic started, while the local government units (LGUs) have to deal with a limited budget for testing and isolation. At the height of the recent surge, the President was forced to place the country’s economic hub, the NCR plus, on a hard lockdown for weeks as the healthcare capacity of the country reached a critical level.
The other countries battling with the Delta variant found that infections and hospitalizations are high in communities where the vaccination rates are low. As of July 12, only about 3.5 million of 110 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated.
For the Philippines to be tagged as the new epicenter of the pandemic is the worst nightmare to happen. Indeed, we do not want to be the next in line. Although much has been expected of the government to protect its people, the effectiveness of its pandemic response mirrors how we as individuals exercise the necessary precaution to protect ourselves from the infection.
With the enemy gaining strength and becoming more transmissible, we must brace for tougher days ahead. While it may be true that we have endured the longest lockdown in the world, the measure has put our chances of economic recovery at the tail end. In bracing for the impact of the Delta variant, the ball is in our hands now, individually and collectively.