Stupidity in the time of COVID-19

AS OF THIS writing, there is neither cure nor vaccine yet available against the coronavirus a.k.a. SARS CoV-2, more popularly known as COVID-19. Until one is made available soon, our best defence is still prevention.

As they say, “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” We have heard and are very familiar with this old saying and most probably took it for granted. Well, that is until today.

As the experts in the treatment and control of diseases have said time and time again, these will help if not prevent the further spreading and contamination of COVID-19:

* staying at home, meaning self-quarantine

* maintaining social distance while in public

* proper hygiene, meaning washing of hands with soap and water plus disinfecting with alcohol

* wearing facemask

Quite simple really, and it does not take a genius to do these things, just plain common sense and discipline.

Washing your hands with soap and water or disinfecting them with alcohol is fairly easy enough as most Filipinos are quite conscious with their personal hygiene. We are known to be “clean” people and we take a bath at least twice a day so washing one’s hands shouldn’t be a problem, likewise for wearing a facemask.

The other preventive measures, self-quarantine and maintaining social distance while in public, are ticklish issues with most Filipinos as doing these requires a fair amount of discipline, which is sadly lacking in most Filipino’s consciousness.

I’ll just park this:

Stupidity – behavior that shows a lack of good sense or judgment

Entitlement – the belief that one inherently deserves privileges or special treatment

The virus of COVID-19 is not mobile, meaning it does not move by itself, and by definition is not even a living thing. For it to multiply or reproduce and move, it needs a host and its preferred host and vector are people, meaning it needs to infect people to reproduce and move. If left alone without a host and a vector the virus will just disintegrate in the heat of the midday sun.

In case you get lost in translation, a vector is an organism that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another.

Are all these getting to you? Or you’re still dense? If you are, just bear with me as these might save your life. Never mind the others, I’m sure they’re not as important as yourself.

If everyone stays at home, the streets will be empty of people. Even if the streets are contaminated, without people to infect the virus stays there; it cannot move, neither reproduce  for the lack of a host and vector. By two in the afternoon in the heat of the sun the virus will just disintegrate.

Yes, according to virologists and experts, SARS CoV-2 is not heat resistant, meaning heat greatly affects its chances of survival.

And that is the purpose of the quarantine – to rid the streets of people who are potential hosts and vectors of the virus. Sounds simple and if strictly adhered to, it works. Unfortunately that is not the case in the Philippines.

You tell a Filipino to stay put and he will not i.e. during floods or volcanic eruptions the authorities tell them to leave their homes and they refuse. Now in this pandemic they are told to stay at home and they refuse to stay.

Every night the police are having their hands full of hundreds of curfew violators. These idiots don’t take this pandemic seriously and if they are infected they blame the government.

And the same goes for social distancing; in the heat and humidity of this tropical country the natives just can’t seem to stay away from each other. They don’t take seriously the fact that being cozy is the perfect scenario for the virus to spread.

And then the other night somewhere in the district of Lapuz hordes of natives broke quarantine and curfew to chase an aswang. Really, in this age of mobile phones and the internet they go chasing an imaginary aswang.

And did they catch the so-called aswang, maybe even took selfies with it? Of course not, because there was none. It was just the figment of the imagination of bored natives in the middle of quarantine and curfew.

Their stupidity exposed themselves to the virus and wittingly or unwittingly escalated the spread of COVID-19.

And then we have Sen. Koko Pimentel, a lawmaker who has broken the law, specifically Republic Act 11332 – Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

He violated this law when he brought to the Makati Medical Center his pregnant wife supposedly to have a CS section procedure even though the baby is still premature.

In doing so he broke quarantine (he was supposed to stay home and wait for the result of his COVID-19 test; well, he eventually turned out positive of the virus). Thus by going to the hospital he contaminated it and put the lives of the medical personnel he came into contact with in danger.

Please tell me why is he allowed to get away with this? (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)