Don’t let them in yet

February 3, 2020 Sideglance

With the pronouncement by the Department of Health (DOH) through its Secretary Francisco Duque that there is already one confirmed individual in the country infected with the 2019 novel-corona virus the call for stronger preventive measures to protect our people from the deadly infection takes top level priority.

Senator Bong Go who is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health seems to have that in mind when he told media that the priority is to lay down measures to help ensure the safety of Filipinos. He went on to say that concerned agencies and offices are already on high alert especially those of tasked with monitoring airports and other points of entry into the country to detect travelers experiencing flu-like symptoms.

Now I would have to agree with Senator Go that there is a need to be extremely alert and vigilant in monitoring all those who enter into our country but other stronger preventive measures must be immediately implemented if we are to assure our countrymen that the first individual in our country to be sick with the 2019 novel coronavirus will not be followed by others.

One suggestion is to temporarily stop allowing people coming from China, especially those originating from Wuhan which is the epicenter of the virus and from nearby Chinese provinces as well, into entering the territory of the country.

This may be deemed a draconian measure but we have to go by the time honored adage that an ounce of prevention is most certainly much, much more in worth than a pound of cure.

Instead of allowing these travelers from China to step into our soil through the various points of entry and trying to thermal scan them for any sign of flu-like symptoms it would be way much better if we simply inform the Chinese government that pending the discovery of a vaccine to immunize healthy individuals against the novel coronavirus.