Bracing for another storm
Today, exactly 24 days after Typhoon Odette wreaked havoc in Bohol and other provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao, many parts of the province still do not have electricity. From day zero, life has become harder every day as many lost their houses and livelihoods. Rubbing salt into the wound, unscrupulous businessmen took advantage of our hardships by charging exorbitant prices on basic commodities.
While we are still reeling from the tribulations post-Odette, another storm is coming: the pandemic storm of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants. As of January 8, 2022, the Philippines logged 26,458 new COVID-19 infections, making active cases now past 100,000.
Metro Manila is currently under Alert Level 3, but DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III raised the possibility of elevating the quarantine status to Alert Level 4 if cases continue to increase.The government also placed the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal under Alert Level 3 from January 3 until January 15, while Laguna is under the same alert level starting January 7 until January 15. Fourteen more cities and provinces were placed under Alert Level 3 beginning January 9 until 15 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. (www.gmanetwork.com)
As of January 8, 2022 (4:30 pm), the Emergency Operations Center of the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force reported 62 active cases of COVID-19. A few days ago, the number of active cases was only 10.
COVID-19 is starting to sweep the country again with its debilitating effects on health and the economy. There is a shortage of over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol in Manila, as many people are getting sick.
Food and shelter are indeed the most urgent provisions Boholanos need today, and this fact is not the subject of an intense debate since we cannot dispute what we see before our eyes. When it comes to COVID-19, however, it is regrettable that still many people continue to harbor the belief that COVID-19 is not real, thus, snubbing the government’s vaccination program and not observing the basic health protocols.
Bohol already lacks hospital facilities to treat the COVID-19 patients even before Typhoon Odette. With some of our hospital buildings damaged by the typhoon and the situation aggravated by the lack of electricity and scarce potable water supply, we cannot afford to face another COVID-19 pandemic storm.