Allowing seminars, minors in malls can be ‘dangerous superspreaders’ — experts

December 9, 2020, 1:55 PM

Experts monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the country urged the government to rethink its decision in allowing increased movement of people as this could turn into “dangerous superspreader” events and could trigger another wave.

In its latest monitoring report issued Wednesday, the OCTA Research Team said that while it is supporting the government’s efforts in gradually reopening the economy, the public should be more cautious of its impact especially this holiday season.

The government’s pandemic task force had earlier allowed the limited conduct of workshops, training, seminars, and other related events in areas under the general community quarantine GCQ. It also previously adjusted the age group of persons who are allowed to go out of their homes to 15 to 65 years old.

“We understand the logic of economic promotion in these directives but given the reality of significant outbreaks still in many GCQ areas, we believe that at this time, these directives are risky and opposed to good or sensible pandemic management,” the group explained.

As the national government continues to revive the economy, OCTA warned that there could be a “real possibility” of a significant surge in COVID-19 cases similar to current outbreaks in Europe and the US, especially during the Christmas season.

Aside from increased mobility due to the expansion of economic activity, OCTA added that “pandemic fatigue” also caused the deteriorating compliance of the public with the minimum health standard that contributed to the increase in new cases.

Also among the contributing factors to the spike in COVID-19 cases are the failure of local government units (LGUs) to strictly enforce quarantine regulations and the continuing post-typhoon effects which include delays in test reports due to the temporary closing of test centers.

OCTA recommended to the government to further increase the capacity of the national health care system in preparation for potential outbreaks, as well as to enhance its efforts on testing and contact tracing.

The group also called on the government to continue building more isolation facilities and to improve the capabilities of local government units to implement community health programs and undertake effective epidemic surveillance.

The OCTA team is an independent and interdisciplinary research group that has been monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines. It is composed primarily of UP faculty members and alumni with contributors from the University of Santo Tomas and Providence College, USA.

SOURCE: https://mb.com.ph/2020/12/09/allowing-seminars-minors-in-malls-can-be-dangerous-superspreaders-experts/