COVID-19 Pandemic: Health as One

FEBRUARY 9, 2022 — 2020 was the worst year, as many dubbed on different social media platforms. Memes rating the year with one star and a review “Very bad, would not recommend” were everywhere; some users even dubbed it “the year that shall not be named.”

On the day before 2020 was celebrated, Wuhan was experiencing a health crisis with an unknown cause. The Chinese authorities alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) of the cases in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China. (Jerving & Ravelo, 2022)

Starting as an epidemic, COVID-19 which was once called 2019-nCoV emerged to be a pandemic that will ruin the lives of millions.

With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading to several countries worldwide, the Philippines did not become a stranger to the virus. On the morning of a day in March 2020, students at school were wearing masks and frantically sharing alcohol as they waited for a class suspension.

President Rodrigo Duterte announced lockdown and travel restrictions, especially in Metro Manila which was placed on the highest COVID-19 alert level. "Ayaw naming gamitin 'yan kasi takot kayo sabihin lockdown. But it's a lockdown," Duterte said. (We don't want to use that, to call it a lockdown, because you're afraid. But it's a lockdown.) (CNN Philippines Staff, 2020)

Some cheered while some were worried, but what everyone thought was that the suspension will only last for a week or a month at most.

Two years in and students are still in their homes. Online classes have become the new normal. Two years in and we are still hitting the highest spikes in new cases with the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron.

A graph from Our World in Data showing COVID-19 cases from March 2020 to February 2022. (Appel et al., 2020)

Urgency (or Lack Thereof)

"As of now, we cannot understand why there is a need to impose a ban on Chinese nationals. I wish that the mayors carefully study the proposals and talk with the DOH before they decide if it is really needed," Chinese Consul General Jia Li expressed in Chinese through an interpreter during a press conference in Cebu. (Peralta, 2020)

During the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the Philippine government refused to impose a travel ban from China (Peralta, 2020) while neighbors such as Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam swiftly implemented preventive measures (Heydarian, 2020).

Because of the lack of urgency the government exhibited, the first confirmed case of the coronavirus was a Chinese patient experiencing mild cough who arrived from Wuhan via Hong Kong. (Department of Health, 2020)

"Rest assured that the Duterte administration takes this threat seriously," Senator Bong Go said. Despite this, they only imposed travel restrictions and preventive measures after the first coronavirus scare in the Philippines. (CNN Philippines Staff, 2020)

To this, Vice President Leni Robredo expressed, “Ang kasalukuyang banta ng coronavirus sa bawat Pilipino ay nangangailangan ng agarang aksyon mula sa ating pamahalaan... Bawat minutong ipapagbukas pa ang pag-aksyon sa mga rekomendasyong ito, lalong nailalagay sa panganib ang kapakanan at kalusugan ng ating mga mamamayan.” (The threat of coronavirus to Filipinos needs swift action from the government. Every minute wasted before acting on the recommendations puts the welfare and health of Filipinos at risk.)

For a pandemic and a health crisis, the best preventive measure that the government can implement is urgency. To act quickly and swiftly would help prevent the spread of the virus and prevent the endangerment of the Filipino people.

The Myth of Militarization

During the course of the pandemic, the police and the military frequented the streets and checkpoints. President Duterte even threatened to officially declare martial law, “I am just asking for your discipline. If you don't want to, the military and police can take over. I am ordering them now to be ready. This will be like martial law. You choose.” (Dancel, 2020)

An armed police officer guards a checkpoint in Metro Manila month amid the antivirus lockdown of Luzon. (EPA, 2020)

Authorities took this as a signal to deploy more people from the police and military force who shall arrest non-compliant citizens. This resulted in over 100,000 Filipinos arrested for alleged violations. (Pizarro & Yusingco, 2020)

These policies perpetuated human rights violations of the police, the military, and the government; the reported human rights violations ranged from police attacks against activists and relief workers to arrests of individuals who posted criticism on social media. (Pizarro & Yusingco, 2020)

The United Nations Human Rights Office likened the COVID-19 response to the drug war and counter-insurgency actions, quoting, “The response to COVID-19 has seen the same heavy-handed security approach that appears to have been mainstreamed through the ramped-up drug war and counter-insurgency imperatives.” (Pizarro & Yusingco, 2020)

The drug war and the counter-insurgency imperatives fail to address the problem from the root and default to a violent and ineffective solution. Because of this, innocent people also die—police officers often say they were people who resisted and fought back (nanlaban).

On top of the human rights violations, militarization wasn’t ever going to be effective in fighting the health crisis. The government’s solutions revolve around brute force and violence instead of medically and scientifically backed actions by professionals, and this has not produced commendable public health outcomes.

This—prioritizing health science—is where they failed.

The government failed to acknowledge the need for science in the time of a pandemic—a health crisis. Duterte said as he defended militarization during a late-night address, “This is a mechanical act. It is not a study of medicine. Parang transaction sa negosyo (It's just like a business transaction). You need not be a doctor here, because you are transacting a business. It is not really a matter of medical science that you are talking of.” (Ferreras, 2021)

The “Pasaway” Poor and the “Righteous” Rich

Other people have labeled the middle-class or lower-class Filipino as pasaway or disobedient. The surge in COVID-19 cases would often be blamed on the poor who doesn’t follow community quarantine guidelines. Data say otherwise.

Google metrics that gauge movement trends across different places using data from phone users who have their location history on. (Cigaral, 2020)

Reports say that workplaces saw a 16% decline in foot traffic, groceries and pharmacies a 24% dip, while movement at home rose by 15%. (Cigaral, 2020) People only leave for essential activities such as food and toiletries since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Worsening food insecurity and nutrition left many lower-class Filipinos hungry and in fear of dying due to starvation. People from urban poor areas mention, “‘Di ako natatakot sa COVID-19. Ang nakakatakot diyan ay mamatay kang dilat sa gutom.” (I am not scared of COVID-19. What’s scary is to die due to starvation.) (Rappler, 2020)

A CNA Insider documentary (2020) showcased the necessary measures that families from below the poverty line take to not be hungry or be starved as majority of Filipino households receive food assistance only once, twice, or thrice since the onset of the pandemic (Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, 2021).

A resident in an urban poor community expressed, “Nangako silang hindi nila kami pababayaan ngayon na may pandemic. Eh iyong pangako na iyon, hindi pa po natutupad.” (They promised that they would not neglect us in the face of the pandemic. But until now they still haven’t fulfilled that promise.) (Rappler, 2020)

While poor Filipinos are called pasaway, the rich don’t get arrested for breaching quarantine protocols like Koko Pimentel whose complaint was dismissed due to lack of probable cause despite going out while waiting for COVID-19 test results (Patag, 2021) and Debold Sinas holding a birthday salo-salo as the PNP strives to contain the virus (Talabong, 2020).

NCRPO chief Sinas’s birthday salo-salo (Talabong, 2020)

One Health, One Country, One Society

Aside from the urgent, scientifically-backed, and not anti-poor policies that a government must implement, society must remember that humans, animals, and the environment are closely related to each other. (CDC, 2018)

This is the concept of One Health which states that close contact with animals and their environments provides more opportunities for diseases to pass to humans; the changes that our environment experiences such as climate change, deforestation, and intensive farming practices also affect humankind’s health. (CDC, 2018)

The spread of diseases comes with the movement of people, animals, and animal products in international and local travel and trade. Thus, a virus quickly becomes a pandemic that affects the whole world. (CDC, 2018)

The concept of One Health (ISGlobal, 2021)

Ebola. Zika. African swine fever. Rabies. Salmonella. We are not strangers to viruses that transfer from animals to humans. The COVID-19 virus is zoonotic; it can spread between people and animals. CDC (2021) reports more than 400 animals from 29 countries infected. Infected animals range from wildlife, zoo, and production animals to companion animals, most popular are cats and dogs.

These animals became infected due to contact with COVID-19 carriers. Although they do not play a significant role in spreading the virus to people, this shows a connection with humans and animals that One Health has suggested. The transmission of the virus, the range of the animals that can be infected, and the risks of establishing new hosts and reservoirs can be studied through scientific observation and investigation. (CDC, 2021)

With this, preventive measures would include hygienic consumption of meat products, a controlled environment for wildlife trade and hunting (Çağlayan et al., 2021), and proper care of pets. When they seem sick, make sure to immediately report it to medical professionals.

With the declaration of a climate crisis, the effects do not end with the melting of glaciers. Climate change causes human and animal migration because it imperils their access to safe drinking water, nutritious food, clean air, and safe shelter. For instance, the average temperature increases by 2–3 °C which affects the migration pathways of mosquitoes who are incapable of regulating body heat, subsequently increasing the population at risk of malaria by 3–5%. (Çağlayan et al., 2021)

Climate change also leads to extreme weather events and the scarcity of clean air and water. With this, the climate crisis is expected to cause 250,000 deaths every year, from 2030 to 2050. 144,000 would be due to viral diarrhea and malaria, and 95,000 would be caused by childhood malnutrition. (Çağlayan et al., 2021)

Deforestation and illegal logging have been proven to be prevalent environmental problems that lead to habitat shrinkage and even destruction. With different species moving from one destroyed habitat to another, unusual species encounters among wildlife and between humans and animals would emerge—leading to pathogens finding more suitable hosts. (Çağlayan et al., 2021)

Thus, environmental crises such as climate change and deforestation shall also be on the top of our priorities as a nation. The government must monitor the country’s environmental health using the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and propose solutions to tackle environmental problems. Public funding of pollution-intensive and destructive industries that contribute to climate change and destroy ecosystems should be relocated to create jobs in alternative industries. (Çağlayan et al., 2021)

Many say, “It’t better to prevent than to cure.” Hand-in-hand, health authorities and professionals from several countries should adopt the one health concept to prevent another pandemic in our lifetime. (Çağlayan et al., 2021)

Only with scientifically-backed data, research, evidence, and study, we can avoid another year like 2020—or rather, the year that must not be named.