Philippines Has Also Imposed Stricter Restrictions After Lifting Certain Restrictions in June


Advertisements
 

If you’ve ever been stalked by a creep, you’d know that they don’t handle rejection well.

Days after rejecting them politely, they come back with the message: “Hi beautiful”, even though “Hi gorgeous” didn’t work a few days earlier.

You reject their advances again, they say they accept it, but then they try their luck again a few days later.

They just won’t give up.

Covid-19 is often thought of as the stalker of the virus world, because no matter how much you try to stamp it out, it keeps coming back to haunt you.

Philippines Has Also Imposed Stricter Restrictions After Lifting Certain Restrictions in June

Just two months after easing coronavirus restrictions, the Philippines announced it will reimpose a stricter coronavirus lockdown for two weeks, as infections in the country surge.

According to CNA, President Rodrigo Duterte announced he will place Metro Manila and nearby provinces under a “Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine” (MECQ) until 18 Aug.

Image: Government TV (RTVM)

Everyone has their own name for quarantine – Circuit Breaker, Movement Control Order, Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine – but they all mean the same thing: sadness.

Why the sudden announcement? Well, just two months after things seemed to be getting better, infections started to shoot up, alarming healthcare professionals across the country.

When you have an upward curve like this on a Covid-19 graph, you know the situation is getting out of control.

Image: Worldometers

Back in June, the country was recording around 500 to 700 new infections every day. That number has shot up to over 3,500 daily in the last few days, with 5,032 additional infections on Sunday (2 Aug), the country’s largest single-day increase.

They now have a total of 103,185 confirmed Covid-19 cases, which is the second-highest number in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia.

Doctors & Nurses Pleaded For Lockdown

One of the reasons countries are trying to flatten the curve is that if hospitals become overwhelmed with patients, there may not be enough beds, ventilators, or even doctors to go around.

This forces healthcare professionals to work long, draining shifts, leading to exhaustion.

Duterte’s move came after 80 local groups representing 80,000 doctors and a million nurses urged the president to impose stricter restrictions, warning of a collapse of their healthcare system.


Advertisements
 

“Our health workers are burnt out with a seemingly endless number of patients trooping to our hospitals for emergency care and admission,” the group, led by the Philippine College of Physicians, said in a letter to the president.

Image: UNTV Web

“We are waging a losing battle against Covid-19,” it added.

The next day, Duterte said he would reimpose lockdowns in and around the capital for two weeks.

“I have heard you. Don’t lose hope. We are aware that you are tired,” Duterte said on Sunday.

This lockdown will lead to the closure of some businesses in the area, as well as the halting of public transport.


Advertisements
 

Work and quarantine passes will also be required, according to CNA.

More Benefits For Healthcare Workers, More Professionals To Be Hired

The president also approved the hiring of 10,000 medical professionals to expand the current workforce, as doctors and nurses in the country struggle to keep up with the influx of patients, reported Yahoo News.

Moreover, Duterte has agreed to provide healthcare workers with additional benefits such as:

  • Risk allowance for private sector healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients;
  • P10,000 to P15,000 for every healthcare worker that gets sick
  • Life insurance
  • Free accommodation
  • Free transportation
  • Free and frequent COVID-19 testing

You now know why we’re still not allowed to go abroad for a relaxing holiday; because the fight against the coronavirus is far from over.