All countries should have followed the 'Taiwan Model' as all/most of it makes sense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Taiwan * Taiwan engaged in 124 discrete action items to prevent the spread of the disease, including early screening of flights from Mainland China and the tracking of individual cases. *On 31 December 2019, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) implemented inspection measures for inbound flights from Wuhan, China in response to reports of an unidentified outbreak. The passengers of all such flights were inspected by health officials before disembarking. * Starting 19 March foreign nationals were barred from entering Taiwan, with some exceptions, such as those carrying out the term of a business contract, holding valid Alien Resident Certificates, diplomatic credentials, or other official documentation and special permits. * By 5 January 2020, the Taiwan CDC began monitoring all individuals who had travelled to Wuhan within fourteen days and exhibited a fever or symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections. These people were screened for 26 known pathogens, including SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome, and those testing positive were quarantined. * After the first case of the coronavirus was reported on 21 January, the Taiwanese government announced a temporary ban on the export of face masks for a month on 24 January to secure a supply of masks for its own citizens. The ban was extended twice; on 13 February until the end of April, and on 13 April until the end of June. On 6 February, the government instituted a mask rationing system, requiring citizens to present their National Health Insurance card. Adults were allowed to buy two masks each visit and children four, with the restriction that a minimum of seven days must elapse since the last purchase. The date restriction for children under thirteen years of age was revoked on 27 February. Starting 5 March, adults were permitted to buy three masks weekly, and the children's quota was raised to five. Masks were available for pre-order online from 12 March. In April, the mask rationing system was revised, so that adults could buy nine masks every two weeks. In addition, Taiwanese nationals can send 30 masks every two months overseas to first or second-degree relatives. (Soldiers were dispatched to the factory floors of major mask manufacturers to help staff the 62 additional mask production lines being set up at the time. In early March, Taiwan's average production of surgical face masks reached 9.2 million per day. By the end of March, the daily production of surgical face masks reached 13 million.) ----------------------------------- Also, from a person I know in Taiwan, it is now compulsory to wear face masks outside the home. This family is back to normal - the children are at school and people go out shopping, but they still employ social distancing. Not wearing a face masks incurs a fine of TWD5000 (about 8500 pesos) and it IS enforced. I make no excuse again for commending their policy on face masks - is spite of the fact that 'experts' tell people there is no need and a Forum member pops up every day or so to tell other members the same negative thing. I hope they don't listen. Cases are very low on smaller islands in the Philippines, the main focus is in Manila, but 35 Iloilo Mayors recently had to get together to reject the landing of 100 OFWs from Manila. Do we know if any transport is taking place of persons from Manila? If it is then people still need to be very wary. If it is not then I see no reason why the quarantine could not be relaxed IF people wear face masks outdoors (100% of people that is) and if they carry out social distancing. But I understand from the friend in Taiwan that some Filipinos there are being hard-headed about following Taiwan's policy on face masks - so what chance they will follow the rules here!
Yes, I was just at Robinson Mall Supermarket, and their liquor section is shut-down, and that mystified & angered me -- aren't we supposed to be numbing ourselves into passivity in our homes?? Why do they prevent the buying of take-home bottles of comfort...?
Seems to be a turn around on the quarantine , read here https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/04/17/news/regions/negros-occidental-to-ease-quarantine/714996/
Not true, and less true. There's close to zero margin for error here. The current situation in Cebu City should serve to highlight where the lack of testing has left us - a few positive cases show up in a certain Sitio of a certain Barangay, authorities lock it down and start testing. Testing ends after they start running out of test kits and they have ~24 new positive results. So now they are treating everyone in that Sitio as positive for COVID-19. Cebu City may have the resources in place to deal with that particular situation, but here?
I lived in Taiwan for 26 years. They really have their sh*t together on this. They learned a lot from the SARS epidemic and some senior officials (VP, mayor of Taipei for example) are medical doctors. One of my friends there was infected but recovered. Another was quarantined for two weeks with electronic surveillance and solid support from food delivery to laundry service. Taiwan has about the best socialized healthcare system in the world. I don’t see DOCOM operating at the moment and certainly the usual scent of coconut on the breeze as you would notice in this season is absent. I haven’t seen a sugarcane truck in a while but they had just harvested before lockdown. The sugar business only really benefits a handful of landowners anyway. Tax pisos flow up to Manila. I don’t expect to see any return. Tourism is over for this year I’m afraid. We’ll see a swath of businesses either just not re-opening or changing hands at deep discounts. It won’t just be the resorts. Lots of smaller businesses rely on the resorts, like laundries, fruit vendors, tank fillers. Another problem I don’t see discussed much is OFWs. Huge numbers of locals rely on remittances from overseas to sponsor their videoke and rum, and many of those are unemployable even in a strong economy. A downturn in global demand hurts the shipping industry and the cruise ship business is going to be decimated. That’s a lot of Filipino seamen idle. Only the medical professionals are going to be in demand, and we could sorely use those here. Vastly reduced remittances to folk with little to no education, work experience, habit or ethic. I think Occ. played us. They knew we were going to extend ECQ and waited for the official EO to drop before announcing the phase out. A lot of politicians are far more concerned about media attention than the welfare of the electorate.
