It's military vs. the virus in the Philippines

The Lobby
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Let’s not cherrypick. Here’s an LA mayor who previously said protests did not cause the spike of cases but later, upon facing facts and data, admitted to the link of the protests and sudden rise in cases. The science has been clearly saying that mass gatherings = possible spread of cases. If you don’t cherrypick with images, you will find A LOT of health protocol violations on these protests.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/la-protests-linked-to-covid-spike-garcetti

The science tells us that lack of proper mask use and mass gatherings (such as rallies) contribute to a rise in cases. Your political views will never change the science and the numbers that cases spike with mass gatherings such as protests or rallies. Rallies are unnecessarily putting our health at risk at this time of a pandemic. Ask medical experts, not activists or politicians.

Everyone should be called out for violation of quarantine protocols. Quarantines are important in containing a pandemic. It’s wrong to peddle the narrative of “military vs virus” because that fails to consider a holistic approach to stopping the pandemic. Less hosts = less cases = less deaths. We cannot count on voluntary compliance so we need law enforcement.

Also, ad hominem arguments against the officials to justify breaking protocols will go nowhere and in the end, everyone loses when cases spike. These officials deserve to be charged and sacked (by all means please please please) BUT you must still comply with quarantine protocols.

The doctor tells you smoking is bad for your lungs.
However, just because the doctor tells you this fact and at the same time puffs a cigarette does not give you the justification to smoke as well. Regardless if the doctor puffs 10 cigarettes in succession in front of you does not change the fact that smoking is bad. You can call him out for his smoking behavior and maybe file a case on account of his behavior but you can’t say that you’ll smoke just because the doctor is smoking too. Smoking is bad because the science says so, not because the doctor says so. :wink:

Officials violating protocols have to be called out and charges have to be filed where appropriate BUT this does NOT in any way justify that everyone should violate protocols. More hosts = more cases = more deaths.

And yes we are doing a lot of testing. We are already doing it for a long time now. :slight_smile:
Just because you were not tested or observed it in your town does not mean we’re not doing it. Our mayor (actually my boss), the nation’s “contact tracing czar” has introduced the concept of Strategic Targeted Testing that uses a matrix to identify portions of the population to be targeted for testing. Testing has to be targeted due to inherent limitations on supplies and laboratory capacities. We’ve been doing this for a long while now but mainstream media does not cover this enough so too many uneducated activists keep saying we don’t test enough.
We have been doing enough testing and we continue to increase our capacity despite limitations on kits and labs (yeah, they don’t grow on trees or pop out of the ground when you water it). :slight_smile:

  1. Lots of testing + Quarantine = Ideal = We find most existing cases, we stop the spread
  2. Few testing + Quarantine = We find some of the existing cases, we stop the spread
  3. No testing + Quarantine = We don’t know who’s infected, we stop the spread
  4. Lots of testing + No Quarantine = We find most existing cases, but with free movement, spread becomes astronomical in no time for testing and treatment to catch up
  5. No testing + No Quarantine = LOL. RIP

Pick your poison. Whatever combo you pick, pick one where cases don’t spread (with quarantine). It’s not military vs virus. It’s law enforcement vs spreaders. Regardless of how you hate the government (or how much you were convinced to speak against them), the science tells us we need to stop the spreaders. Look at it through science, not politics.

No hosts = No cases. Science. :cat:

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Exactly why I also shared the articles on the violations of government officials. :slight_smile: Like I said, we call out protesters for their movements demanding a better covid response from the government, but let’s also call out government officials themselves who disobey these protocols. :blush:

You might have missed it but the point of the post is that, first and foremost, the covid pandemic is a PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. :slight_smile: Naturally, you would expect a response that’s more inclined to strengthening the HEALTH SECTOR of the country. :blush: I’m not, in any way, undermining the help that quarantines and lockdowns give in controlling the spread, but dealing with a HEALTH CRISIS with a militaristic fashion doesn’t quite sit well with me. :blush: I know our frontliners and health workers are working tirelessly to help aid the sick in hospitals that can no longer accommodate people (especially in ICU).

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1 doctor per 1,000 people, while the Philippines has a ratio of 1 doctor per 33,000. But instead of having deployed more health workers, we’re deploying armed soldiers.

I agree. :100: :100: :100: And again, I mentioned the cases of the government officials who violated protocols because it was only the protesters that you mentioned (w/ photo attached). If we want to talk about the spike in cases, we must survey all possible instances that these protocols have been violated, right? :blush:

Sure, it doesn’t give you the justification to smoke. :smiley: But that doctor is definitely unprofessional and, if you’d ask me, should have his license revoked especially if he’s a pulmonologist. :wink:

That’s great then! :slight_smile: I really hope this gets picked up by the media, or can also be featured in your city’s page. :slight_smile: We appreciate your efforts and all the sacrifices you do for the improvement of our response.

I just have a few questions though. :open_mouth: And I hope you can enlighten me. :open_mouth: I think terms have been a bit confusing since people have been fighting for “mass” testing which involves widespread testing of all suspected cases and aggressive contract tracing. :blush: Is the targeting part the main difference? :open_mouth: For STT, how many people do you typically test per day? Just really curious.

Definitely.

Hmm. :open_mouth: We stop the spread by…? :open_mouth:

Agree.

:100:

Hmmmmmmmm. :thinking:I understand that the last thing we want is for “spreaders”, as you’ve called them, to continue spreading the virus. :open_mouth: But my problem is, and why I don’t necessarily believe that we should look at it ONLY through science and not politics is because, in the past months of the quarantine, it has been

law enforcement vs. Maria Ressa
law enforcement vs. jeepney drivers (Piston 6 jailed, after which, 2 of them tested positive for covid)
law enforcement vs. protesters (with passage of ATL)
law enforcement vs. ABSCBN
law enforcement vs. online critics (with Sen. Go filing a complaint against a college student who supposedly shared a misleading article online)

and not much of that law enforcement vs. the virus. :thinking: I mean, there was the Bayanihan Act which has expired last June 24. :thinking:

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But also, again, I would like to thank you and all your efforts for the country! :blush:

1 Like
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How is the situation developing? Has there been any news?