Thank you, that is very informative and I appreciate it. I am not looking to go back to the USA though. I felt that was hinted at when I said that the place I wanted to go to wasn't accepting inbound flights, but no worries, I'm still happy the information was shared.
eskirvin - I'm sorry to hear you got stranded by this thing, I can only imagine how frustrating and challenging it must be. Hope you are doing okay.
Frustrating or challenging? Not really. I like this place. I am worried about my job though. Systems I need can't be accessed via the internet and I can't see people paying me to do 20% of my job for long. It has been 60 days already so the anxiety is real. I appreciate your concern.
I understood that cargo handlers could not disembark - only the cargo (that itself could be a risk but time at sea and in storage would hopefully destroy the virus activity). I am not aware of illegal entry but it certainly is a possibility. However, some places could take a risk and then clamp down immediately if necessary - and Negros Oriental seems to be one of those places. But I note that ALL place are now under ECQ or GCQ as those excluded on Tuesday have been included today.
How about they put all of us over 60 (volunteers only) as cannon fodder and we would parade the blvd and Perdices street. Those of us who survive have our freedom, our Emancipation Proclamation-type of order.
Were I 60 plus and in a position where I might die if I don't go out, for a myriad of reasons (boredom, depression, the spouse, hunger, illness), I'd certainly go out and be prepared to face the repercussions. I saw a 64 year old man turned away from entering a mall here in the Philippines, that happens to stay at the same hotel I do. I asked him why and he told me he was over the age limit of 59. As the guards told him no, dozens of other potential vectors walked right by him into the mall. Was he protected? Did he make a choice? If he's there at the mall, not letting him in isn't protecting him. I asked him if he needed anything, that I'd be happy to help and he said, "No, I really just wanted to walk around inside."
With zero cases of any COVID here, you can't contract it. The good Gov, if he keeps all the current restrictions as they are, with some exceptions like restrict travel from Cebu, he might as well abdicate his authority to Manila and stay home. Imagine if all elected officials had to accept the SAP only and the food handouts from the government until the restrictions are lifted, just like the regular people are forced to live on and stand in line in the heat for hours on end to receive. I imagine the quarantines would be changed real fast. As usual, good for thee but not for me.
No. Two cargo handlers and one driver are allowed with each truck. For a total of three people. They come across on the ferry with the truck then drive around town and offload their stuff. There was one incidence that I know of where one of the cargo handlers was actually a passenger and went to his home in Dumaguete. The neighbors ratted him out and he had to spend 14 days in quarantine at the city quarantine center. After this, the allotted time they were allowed to get back to the ferry terminal was shortened. I did not read any consequences for leaving the cargo handlers. Hopefully there are consequences for the driver. (What a great side business.) No. Often, it is impossible to clamp down immediately because the sick do not always show enough symptoms to alert the health authorities. There are many situations where the virus starts spreading without anyone knowing. First, Filipinos are mostly young. The average age is 25. People in this age group typically have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic. If they get sick they can easily spread it to others without going to the hospital to get tested. They would be thinking that they just had a cold or not feel anything at all. Meanwhile they would be infecting others. Second there are situations where one person can infect a large number of people. Particularly in wet places. (Wet fish markets, pork packing plants are a problem in the USA, etc.) Water/moisture keeps the virus intact and spreads it around. One person was able to infect 533 other people in a fish plant in Ghana. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/11/ghana-president-coronavirus-outbreak-at-fish-factory.html Negros Oriental got lucky in that the people who were found to have been infected were older (travelers) and exhibited severe symptoms. (at least 2 of 6 died) all of them but one spent time in the hospital. If a young asymptomatic (or mild symptoms) carrier went to the the wet market for awhile the number of people infected could easily overwhelm the local resources for contact tracing. We would end up like Cebu, unable to stifle the outbreak with contact tracing and isolation.
I wrote my comment in a very full awareness of viral infections and epidemiology - but these conditions also existed before any quarantines were in place. In fact, open airport and shipping port, absence of face masks by most people and other factors means it was more dangerous THEN than NOW. Under your MO, it will be months or years before any RISK (this means there is a calculated chance that something could go wrong) could be taken. What I suggest is going back to the time when the virus was already around but when there were more risk factors. Many areas survived that very well - I don't lightly regard anyone's life as worthless (including the aged!) but the current situation could result in an increase in deaths due to factors outlined many times before here (lack of hospital visits by the sick, deterioration of physical and mental health, possible malnutrition to name just a few) and the destruction of businesses and jobs. You may recall I was the first to advise here to wear face masks and eye protection and was probably one of the first to self-isolate (even before GCQ) so I am not a Covidiot asking to risk losing hundreds of lives just to see what happens. I have thought about the current situation, how it relates to the past situation and what happened at that time, the opportunities to go back a step if necessary. At the time the virus arrived I argued against those who said to just let the virus take its course - but now I feel the situation is different and a risk needs to be taken (with safeguards).
