AREVALO, ISABELLI JUSTINE L.

THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC; A COVID-19 UPDATE

Introduction
Covid-19 have changed our life surprisingly and the whole world. We are fighting a
invisible enemy. This is a new virus, it started as NOVEL CORONAVIRUS, then given a
present name covid-19. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are circulating
globally: The United Kingdom (UK) identified a variant called B.1.1.7 with a large number of
mutations.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered
coronavirus.
Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate
respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with
underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease,
and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. So it is important to maintain good health,
do some exercise, have enough rest, stay at home as much as possible, take multivitamins, eat
healthy foods, observe social distancing, observe body cleanliness, and disinfecting our house
and surroundings.
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the
COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from
infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently and not touching your
face. Limiting of entering crowded and enclose place is encourage to prevent transmission.
Hand contact on infected surfaces can also bring transmission. The COVID-19 virus
spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person
coughs or sneezes.

Origin
The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral
infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which
emerged in Wuhan, China and spread around the world. Genomic analysis revealed that SARS-
CoV-2 is phylogenetically related to severe acute respiratory syndrome-like (SARS-like) bat
viruses, therefore bats could be the possible primary reservoir. The intermediate source of origin
and transfer to humans is not known, however, the rapid human to human transfer has been
confirmed widely.
Specific Solution by Countries
a. China
China has taken many measures to contain its transmission. This study aims to
systematically review and record these special and effective practices, in hope of
benefiting for fighting against the ongoing worldwide pandemic.
The measures taken by the governments was tracked and sorted on a daily basis from
the websites of governmental authorities (e.g., National Health Commission of the
People’s Republic of China). And the measures were reviewed and summarized by
categorizations, figures and tables, showing an ever-changing process of combating with
an emerging infectious disease. The population shift levels, daily local new diagnosed
cases, daily mortality and daily local new cured cases were used for measuring the effect
of the measures.
The practices could be categorized into active case surveillance, rapid case diagnosis
and management, strict follow-up and quarantine of persons with close contacts, and
issuance of guidance to help the public understand and adhere to control measures, plus
prompt and effective high-level policy decision, complete activation of the public health
system, and full involvement of the society. Along with the measures, the population shift
levels, daily local new diagnosed cases, and mortality were decreased, and the daily local
new cured cases were increased in China.

b. Philippines
The Philippine government mounted a multi-sectoral response to the COVID-19,
through the Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases chaired by
the Department of Health (DOH). Through the National Action Plan (NAP) on COVID-
19, the government aims to contain the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its
socioeconomic impacts.
The Philippines implemented various actions including a community quarantine in
Metro Manila which expanded to Luzon as well as other parts of the country; expanded
its testing capacity from one national reference laboratory with the Research Institute of
Tropical Medicine (RITM) to 23 licensed testing labs across the country; worked towards
ensuring that its health care system can handle surge capacity, including for financing of
services and management of cases needing isolation, quarantine and hospitalization; and
addressed the social and economic impact to the community including by providing
social amelioration to low income families.

c. USA
President biden and vice president harris have a seven-point plan to beat covid-19. ensure
all americans have access to regular, reliable, and free testing. fix personal protective equipment
(ppe) problems for good. provide clear, consistent, evidence-based guidance for how
communities should navigate the pandemic – and the resources for schools, small businesses,
and families to make it through. plan for the effective, equitable distribution of treatments and
vaccines — because development isn’t enough if they aren’t effectively distributed. protect older
americans and others at high risk. rebuild and expand defenses to predict, prevent, and mitigate
pandemic threats, including those coming from china. implement mask mandates nationwide by
working with governors and mayors and by asking the american people to do what they do best:

step up in a time of crisis. President biden said “this isn’t about politics. it’s
about saving lives.”

On the other hand, President Trump drew a few laughs and hollers of approval when he
railed against “the plague coming in from China”. But he didn’t dwell on public health concerns.
The coronavirus, “or whatever you want to call it,” as he told the crowd, is now just another
throw-away line in Trump’s political patter, meant to jab a foreign adversary and energize his
base.

Nearly six weeks after Trump stopped daily televised briefings at the White House that
drew sharp criticism for his false claims and dangerous advice -- such as injecting household
disinfectant to kill the virus -- he has a new tactic: ignoring the threat. He rarely speaks of
COVID-19, which has killed more than 114,000 people in the United States and more than
300,000 others elsewhere in the world. When he does mention it, he usually claims imminent
victory. Nor does he remind Americans to stay vigilant although confirmed cases increased
in nearly two dozen states since they began reopening beaches, restaurants and other businesses
and facilities.

The US coronavirus task force, now meets only once or twice a week behind closed
doors and arranges one or two calls a week with state and local officials, according to a task
force official. They hold no public briefings. That see-no-evil approach put the White House at
odds with federal health officials when the CDC urged organizers of large gatherings that
involve shouting, chanting or singing to “strongly encourage” the use of cloth face coverings to
lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus. While Trump has pressured states to reopen their
economies, he has largely washed his hands of the details since early May. Without a coherent or
detailed national plan, governors and local officials tried to fill the void as they juggled
competing health and economic concerns. Officials say states have been forced to come up with
their own plans contain future outbreaks.

A task force official, who requested anonymity to defend its work, denied the
administration is letting down its guard. But he acknowledged a shift toward pushing treatments,
development of vaccines and lessons learned “to make sure people are confident in attempting to
return to normalcy. That includes threatening to withhold federal money to compel states to test
people in nursing homes and other elder care facilities, which have been especially hard hit by
the coronavirus. The official argued that state and local officials should be charged with
managing response efforts, with federal backup. The White House approach has clear risks,
especially with an election five months away. Many of the states that were quick to relax social
distancing. Health experts say the administration should ensure an adequate supply of well-
trained contact tracers to help find and isolate people who may have been exposed to the virus.
The task force official could not say how many tracers have been trained nationally or how many
would be needed.

Impact to Global
As a result, the coronavirus has caused almost every Fortune 1000 company to
experience an interruption of their routine business operations. Across nearly every industry,
multinational companies are confronting the stark reality that business will not go on as usual.
Further, economists have warned that the coronavirus outbreak could cost the global economy an
estimated $1.1 trillion in lost income. Some predict that the epidemic's after-effects will cause
the global economy to shrink this quarter—for the first time since the end of 2008, when a shock
to the financial sector caused turmoil for businesses around the world. Many countries plan to
implement stimulus packages to mitigate coronavirus impact.
Experts expect that technology companies, apparel makers and industrial-equipment
manufacturers, as well as shipping companies, hospitality chains, airlines and the luxury goods
sector will be among those hardest hits by the coronavirus. The economic slowdown could also
derail US plans to increase exports of farm produce, energy and manufactured goods to China,
delaying any real recovery in the distressed farm and rust belts and other areas of the US
economy that rely on the US-China trade relationship.

My Personal Assessment and Conclusion

I cannot help not to ask, if there is more to this pandemic dilemma. Rich countries
become richer and poor countries become poorer. 3rd world countries are not equipped
financially to have a covid-19 vaccine but world powers have the money to have a vaccine first
hand and spend for science and technology for the research of the vaccine and can give advance
payment for this covid-19 transaction. Poor countries cannot dictate on how much and how many
vaccines they need. I cannot say if our country is on the right track on our decision making
because it seems we are far behind than other countries but on the other hand come to think of it,
these vaccines are not thoroughly studied. We cannot take the risk involving all our citizen to
this experiment. Because of our government from the president to the IATF, DILG, MMDA,
metro manila mayors, governors, provincial mayors, barangay levels, and media seems to have a
communication gap and short comings in airing information about this pandemic. DOH said
there would be a great increase in population due to this pandemic lockdown. Couples seams not
to care on the gravity of their action. Pregnant woman and babies who has to go to clinics and
hospitals are open to have higher risk from COVID-19. Face mask, nebulizer, surgical gloves
and face shield are overpriced. Covid-19 test result can be altered. With this kind of actions what
do we expect. Can we really put an end to this covid-19 pandemic? I am wishing for the best but
expecting for the worst. “matira ang matibay”.
My Practical and Individual Lesson
We should be open to other alternative and opportunities so that when crisis arises, we are
not left flat footed. Maintain a reserved cash at home and keep it in a safe place so you’ll have a
cash on hand if you need to buy something during lock downs. Don’t take things for granted like
epidemics or pandemics. Health issues here and abroad should be monitored to keep ourselves
aware of what is happening around us. If we have friends from the country of origin of this virus,
we have to communicate with them to know their dos and don’ts to protect them selves so we’ll
also know how to act on the problem. I learn to be more aware on what is happening around our
neighborhood concerning this covid-19 situation. I learn to be consistent in following rules and
regulations/ protocols needed to be followed in this pandemic. I learn to adjust to be flexible in
learning online. I agree on wise buying of things needed at home. We focus more on healthy
food and health care items only. We schedule our trips when we needed to attend to our grocery
paying bills, go to market, and attend on online Sunday mass. I learned that culture of caring is a
big help for people who are in need. I gain knowledge on values for importance of taking of
vitamins and herbal supplements which is relevant to protect and strengthen our immune system.
Our concern should not be on the speed of acquiring the vaccine but the accuracy of the vaccine
and the safety of the people.