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Thoughts in a triple lockdown

Here are five facts: 1.) the overwhelming majority of people do not have any significant risk of dying from COVID-19; 2.) we have a clearly defined population at risk who can be protected with targeted measures: older people and others with underlying conditions; 3.) protecting older, at-risk people eliminates hospital overcrowding; 4.) vital population immunity is prevented by total isolation policies, prolonging the problem; and, 5.) people are dying because other medical care is not getting done due to hypothetical projections.

That’s according to Scott Atlas, the David and Joan Traitel Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He made the assertions on April 22, a month’s data behind him, backed by studies from Stanford University and New York University Medical Center.

That in turn is supported by Thomas Meunier’s findings (“Full lockdown policies in Western Europe countries have no evident impacts on the COVID-19 epidemic,” May 2020) that insistent lockdown policies tried by some countries were of no effect compared to the more basic social distancing policies.

Which in turn is backed up by Hua Qian and other’s recent study (“Indoor transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” April 2020) which showed that 80% of coronavirus infections happen inside the home. The New York government validated this when it found 66% of infections were of citizens locked-down inside their homes.

Now New York has a population density of 10,194 per km², which alone made imposing a lockdown difficult. Compare that with a city such as Tokyo (6,158/ km²) or a country like Taiwan (649/ km²) which did not impose lockdowns but had their coronavirus situations seemingly under control. Our National Capital Region has a population density of 21,00 per km², Manila alone would be 42,000 per km². A lot, including families, live in homes averaging between 50-70 sq.m.

What makes the entire thing complicated is the seemingly moving target of our community quarantine (and its varied permutations). The official documents don’t seem to indicate specifically what it is. The original understanding was to “flatten the curve.” Then it became “squashing the curve,” to “allow completion of mass testing,” to “wait for vaccine,” and then to “save every single life.” Even “flatten the curve” has evolved into something new: to “prevent overwhelming our hospitals.”

But this just leads to further questions: as to hospital capacity, one needs to only look at the hospital bed utilization rate dedicated to coronavirus patients and extrapolate from there. And surely at two months one would have the data to determine how many beds and other resources are needed considering 91% of those tested yielded negative results and that 80% of those positive are asymptomatic.

Complete contact tracing? Why? What good will it do at this stage? From the looks of it contact tracing is commonsensically helpful to prevent a pandemic in its early stage — but we already know many of our population are infected and according to epidemiologist Dr. John Wong we’ve been actually infected since January (ie., the first wave was January, the second wave is now or already happened last April; “Epidemiologist warns of ‘3rd wave’ of infections,” PDI, May 7).

Complete mass testing? Why? At this stage of the pandemic, what for? If somebody is asymptomatic or having very mild symptoms, as 80-90% of infected likely are, then what’s the point? You can’t isolate everyone or put them in the hospital. So why not focus testing for clinical/diagnostic purposes on those exhibiting severe symptoms? But if Stanford and other studies shows that only around less than 0.01% — 1.7% of those infected need hospitalization and the infection fatality rate (IFR) is between .1-.2% (a University of Washington study declared an IFR of 1.3% but admits their calculation excluded asymptomatic patients) then why lock down everyone, including reasonably healthy people, when the hospital system can focus their attention on the elderly or those with chronic illnesses, which apparently is what’s crucial at this point, particularly when the feared next wave does come.

Another suggestion is to retain lockdowns until a vaccine comes. But how many years will that take? The fastest vaccine developed was for Ebola and it took five years. HIV and SARS still don’t have vaccines. We have vaccines for flu but they are only 55% effective and the flu still kills 76,000 Filipinos annually.

And about saving every life? As of May 15, representing the second full month of our lockdown, 806 have died from the coronavirus. To put that into context without minimizing the tragedy of those deaths, on monthly average, 300 Filipinos die by suicide, 1,000 from car crashes, 5,000 from stroke, 5,333 from cancer, 6,333 from pneumonia and flu, and 7,000 from heart disease.

And, yes, one can die from hunger too: a UNICEF study showed that 95 Filipino children die from malnutrition daily. That’s 2,850 deaths monthly, 32,000 yearly. For children alone, during ordinary economic times.

One can only speculate how many lives will be put in dire straits in the coming post-lockdown economy.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter @jemygatdula

Merkel and Macron show the way to a stronger Europe

By The Bloomberg Editors

A PROPOSAL announced this week by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron marks a real advance in the European Union’s sluggish response to the novel coronavirus. Their idea is for the European Commission to borrow some 500 billion euros ($548 billion) and distribute the money as grants to the member states most in need of fiscal support. That’s a much bigger number than previously contemplated, and the idea of giving grants rather than making loans is even bolder.

In coming to this agreement, Germany has veered toward France’s position, and that’s a move in the right direction.

Admittedly, to say that details remain to be worked out would be an understatement even by EU standards. The two leaders haven’t said exactly how they would like the money to be allocated, or exactly how the new borrowings would be repaid — crucial and extremely contentious questions. And though an understanding between France and Germany on a new fiscal plan is necessary for anything to happen, it isn’t sufficient. Support from all 27 members of the union will be needed to move forward, and fiscally conservative governments are already lodging objections.

It’s hard to quarrel with Merkel’s account of why a program of this kind — and preferably bigger still — is needed. As she pointed out, “There is a risk that the EU’s cohesion will be endangered by the economic effects of this virus.” Without help, the countries worst hit with cases of COVID-19, especially Italy, will struggle to cope with the budgetary consequences. That’s partly because, as members of the single-currency system, they lack independent recourse to monetary accommodation of their emergency public spending. Italy’s debts are already onerous. The European Central Bank has stepped forward with powerful monetary-policy support, but its ability to direct help to the countries that need it most is constrained.

The EU’s hesitation has added to popular resentment in Italy and elsewhere, and things could get worse if the hoped-for economic recovery is delayed or interrupted. Euroskeptic sentiment was on the rise even before the pandemic’s fiscal demands drew fresh attention to the weakness of the EU’s policy tools.

In the longer term, Europe requires a permanent budget-policy framework to furnish the euro system with the necessary fiscal instruments. That means EU borrowing, EU taxes, and EU public spending. This, however, is work that will take years, supposing it can ever be accomplished. Europe would need a new treaty — a drawn-out process that requires unanimity — and would have to address issues of identity and solidarity that up to now it has preferred to dodge. Because of the coronavirus, a much faster remedy is essential. A temporary de facto union, skirting the need for a new treaty and consequent delays, is the best way forward.

This new proposal could start to fit the bill. Granted, even in getting to a short-term fix, complex negotiations will be needed over who gets the money and who in the end pays. The effort might fizzle out, like previous attempts. But in agreeing with Macron and recognizing, for the first time, that a single-currency area can’t work well under stress without a unified fiscal policy, Merkel has taken a big and possibly momentous step.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

What to expect when a coronavirus vaccine finally arrives

By Elena Conis, Michael McCoyd and Jessie A. Moravek

ON A SPRING MORNING in 1955, a pair of press officers greeted a mob of reporters in a stately hall on the University of Michigan campus. The officers had hot news: A clinical trial of the long-awaited polio vaccine had proved it to be safe and effective. The reporters nearly rioted in their scramble to spread the word. Once they did, church bells rang, and people ran into the streets to cheer.

In the midst of our current pandemic, collective hope for a vaccine is just as palpable and regularly reinforced — as it was with this week’s news of promising results from a small coronavirus vaccine test. The federal government’s top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that “the ultimate game changer in this will be a vaccine.” President Trump assured us that a vaccine is not far off. Television hosts and pundits claim that this goal is within reach because we’ve beaten infectious killers, such as polio, with vaccines in the past.

But America’s experience with polio should give us pause, not hope. The first effective polio vaccine followed decades of research and testing. Once fully tested, it was approved with record speed. Then there were life-threatening manufacturing problems. Distribution problems followed. Political fights broke out. After several years, enough Americans were vaccinated that cases plummeted — but they persisted in poor communities for over a decade. Polio’s full story should make us wary of promises that we will soon have the coronavirus under control with a vaccine.

The first polio epidemic in the United States hit Vermont in 1894, killing 18 and leaving 58 permanently paralyzed. It was only the beginning. Over the next several decades, warm-weather outbreaks became common, striking communities one year and sparing them the next, sometimes only to return later with added force. A New York City outbreak killed more than 100 people in 1907. In 1916, polio returned and killed 6,000. The disease primarily struck children. It could kill up to 25% of the stricken. And it left many paralyzed, consigning some to life in an iron lung.

Scientists knew polio was caused by a virus but did not know how it spread. (We know now that it was spread by consumption of food or water contaminated by the virus in fecal matter.) Then, as now, the only way to stay safe was not to be infected. Towns with cases closed movie theaters, pools, amusement parks and summer camps. They canceled long-planned fairs and festivals. Parents kept children close to home. Those who could afford to do so fled to the country. Still, cases mounted. Among three early polio vaccines developed in the 1930s, two proved ineffective, another deadly.

Finally, in April 1954, a promising vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk’s laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, entered a large, yearlong clinical trial. On the day in 1955 when the press officers greeted the reporters in Ann Arbor, they shared the results: The vaccine, containing inactivated polio virus, was safe. It was also 80% to 90% effective in preventing polio.

The federal government licensed the vaccine within hours. Manufacturers hastened into production. A foundation promised to buy the first $9 million worth and provide it to the nation’s first and second graders. A national campaign got underway.

But less than a month later, the effort ground to a halt. Officials reported six polio cases linked to a vaccine manufactured by Cutter Laboratories in Berkeley, Calif. The surgeon general asked Cutter to recall its lots. The National Institutes of Health asked all manufacturers to suspend production until they met new safety standards. Federal investigators found that Cutter had failed to completely kill the virus in some vaccine batches. The flawed vaccines caused more than 200 polio cases and 11 deaths.

The vaccine program partly restarted two months later, but more mayhem followed. With the vaccine in short supply, rumors spread of black markets and unscrupulous doctors charging exorbitant fees. One vaccine manufacturer planned to vaccinate its employees’ children first, and then sent a letter to shareholders promising their children and grandchildren priority access, too.

States asked the federal government to create a program to ensure fair distribution. A Senate bill proposed making the vaccine free to all minors. A House bill proposed free vaccines only for children in need; according to newspaper accounts from the time, discussion of the bill triggered an “angry row” that forced the speaker to call a “cooling off” recess. The $30 million Polio Vaccination Assistance Act that President Dwight Eisenhower signed that August was a compromise that essentially let states decide for themselves.

Polio cases fell sharply over the next few years. Then in 1958, as national attention began to flag, cases ticked back up — among the unvaccinated. Polio cases clustered in urban areas, largely among poor people of color with limited health care access. States’ “pattern of polio,” government epidemiologists noted, had become “quite different from that generally seen in the past.”

Three years later, the federal government approved an oral polio vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin’s laboratory in Cincinnati, containing weakened, not inactivated, virus. By the end of that year, polio infections were down 90% from 1955 levels. In 1979, the country recorded its last community-transmitted case.

Today, decades into a global vaccination campaign, polio persists in just three countries. The battle against the disease has been a century-long march. And it has required a sustained commitment to continuing polio vaccination — a commitment now compromised as global polio vaccination efforts have been put on hold to slow the coronavirus’s spread.

Granted, there are countless differences between the fight against the coronavirus and the long-ago fight against polio. The global capacity for vaccine research and development is far greater than it was in the 1950s. Drug approval and manufacturing safety protocols have been refined since then, too. Already, just months into the current pandemic, there are far more vaccines in development against the coronavirus than there ever were against polio.

But the regulatory thresholds we’ve spent decades putting into place are being swept aside to speed that development. And some of the coronavirus vaccines now in “lightning fast” development — by new biotech firms, university labs and familiar pharmaceutical giants — are as novel as the first polio vaccine was in 1955.

If one does prove safe and effective, we will face the same challenges we faced then — of making enough to protect the population, without causing harm, and distributing it without exacerbating existing inequities in our society.

 

THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

Elena Conis is a historian and a professor in the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where Michael McCoyd is a doctoral candidate in computer science and Jessie A. Moravek is a doctoral student in environmental science, policy and management.

Growth never ceases for Abdur-Rahim even in retirement

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

SHAREEF Abdur-Rahim spent 12 years as a player in the National Basketball Association. A time he described as full of growth and learning. It is the same experience he is having well into retirement.

Currently the NBA G League president, Mr. Abdur-Rahim said he is enjoying what he is doing right now but admits he is still learning the ropes, something he said he is willing to go through, knowing that it would only help him in dispensing his duties as leader of the NBA’s minor league organization.

The one-time NBA All-Star and 2000 Olympic gold medal winner said he is drawing from his vast experience as an NBA player, and later on as coach and league executive, as he settles into the role of G League president.

“All of my experiences in the NBA contribute to what I do now as G League president. Definitely I continue to grow in my position. There are still things I’m learning. But I’m enjoying my role, you continue to learn,” said Mr. Abdur-Rahim, who took the G League position in 2018, in a video conference call with Philippine media on May 14.

Mr. Abdur-Rahim, 43, was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the third overall pick in the 1996 rookie draft.

He spent five years with the Grizzlies before being sent to the Atlanta Hawks in 2001.

With the Hawks, his career further soared, earning his lone All-Star nod in 2002.

In 2003 he was shipped to the Portland TrailBlazers, where he played for two years, before ending the last three years of his career with the Sacramento Kings.

After playing, he spent some time as assistant coach of the Kings then later on as assistant general manager of the team.

He was named associate vice-president of basketball operations of the NBA before taking the job with the G League in 2018.

Mr. Abdur-Rahim shared that he did not envision his post-playing career to chart such a path but his desire to continue to grow and challenge himself swung him in such a direction.

“When I retired I kind of went through a process of wanting to grow more. I spent time coaching. Went back to school and finished my education. I can’t say that I set out to go this path but all these experiences contributed to being where I am now,” he said.

A little over a year into his latest role, Mr. Abdur-Rahim said he is determined to make it work for him and the G League, guided by the organization’s push to continue developing NBA-level talent.

He said he is viewing his position in the G League as an opportunity to grow as an individual and contribute to the growth of others.

“It’s an opportunity to take my experience and share it with young players like Kai Sotto. It’s an outlet to continue to learn and grow and, at the same time, contribute,” said Mr. Abdur-Rahim, making special mention of Filipino prospect Sotto, who recently committed to play in the G League as he goes for his NBA dream.

FIBA 3×3 Olympic qualifying tourneys moved to next year

AFTER SUSPENDING all of its competitions early this year because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, world basketball governing body FIBA had decided to update its calendar for its 3×3 2020 season, including moving the Olympic qualifying tournaments to next year.

With the Olympic Games forced to be rescheduled to next year as COVID-19 remains a growing concern, FIBA deemed it fit to push back the conduct of the 3×3 qualifiers, originally slated to be held in the first of half of 2020, to 2021 as well.

In March, FIBA 3X3 said that there would be no official 3×3 tournaments taking place before August 2020 at the earliest due to the current situation with COVID-19.

The Philippines earned a spot for the qualifiers and was set to compete in Bangalore, India, from March 18 to 22.

The quartet of Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, CJ Perez, and Mo Tautuaa comprises Team Philippines, which is set to begin its campaign in Pool C along with Slovenia, France, Qatar, and the Dominican Republic.

The end goal of the team is to win one of the three spots up for grabs in the tournament to qualify for the Tokyo Games, where 3×3 basketball is set to make its debut.

With the deferment, the team would have to wait a little longer before taking a shot at making the Games.

Supporters of the team, including long-time backer Chooks-to-Go, vowed to sustain their support in the country’s push in the sport, which has made significant strides in the last few years, as well as to the team competing in the qualifiers.

While the qualifiers were deferred, FIBA decided to scrap some 3×3 events in 2020 altogether, namely, four World Tour events (Prague, Lausanne, Los Angeles, Nanjing), FIBA 3×3 U23 Nations League, qualifiers to the various Zone Cups and the FIBA 3×3 U17 Zone Cups (including qualifiers).

The basketball body, however, said it remains committed to bring 3×3 back in action and continues to work actively in the planning and organization of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour, Challengers, Women’s Series, Zone Cups and World Cups (U23 and U18) in the remainder of 2020 as well as in January 2021 if needed.

It also reiterated that it continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation on a regular basis and communicate any further updates. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

US Open without fans would devalue title win, says Cilic

MUMBAI — Marin Cilic thinks winning the US Open in front of empty stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium would be forever remembered as a Grand Slam triumph with a very big asterisk, the former champion told Reuters.

The tennis season came to a halt in March due to the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown will continue at least until the end of July with many countries in lockdown and air travel bans in place.

The US Open is scheduled to take place from Aug. 31 and organizers are looking at a wide range of scenarios to get the show on, including keeping fans out.

Cilic, who held the silver trophy aloft at Flushing Meadows in 2014 in the biggest achievement of his career, felt a crowd-free environment would devalue the accomplishment.

“I just feel that it’s going to more or less feel like practice matches,” the former world number three said in an interview from Croatia.

“It’s always going to be … in the years to come, ‘oh, you know that guy won a US Open in 2020 without fans.’ I don’t think it’s going to have that weight…

“It wouldn’t be the best scenario.”

Cilic thinks the international travel required to get professional tennis up and running again means the issue might end up being academic in any case.

“Tennis season is slightly different than football, than basketball,” he added.

“They have seasons to finish off, and the next season is depending on this season as well. For tennis, if we start in December or in January, it’s not going to change too much.

“I believe that there won’t be any tournaments without fans.

“Basically the whole tour is revolving a lot on sponsors and people coming to the tournaments. Sponsors are investing money because people are coming to watch tennis and see the players.”

While many players have been left with a lot of spare time and an empty schedule during the shutdown, the break has proved timely for Cilic, who became a parent for the first time in January. — Reuters

ONE upstart Zamboanga has sights on world title

SHE may be early into her career in ONE Championship but upstart Denice “The Menace Fairtex” Zamboanga is very much determined to see her goal of winning a world title through.

Having a solid run to begin her time in ONE, Ms. Zamboanga said she is confident of her talent and believes that given the opportunity she could achieve greater things in mixed martial arts.

Twenty-three-year-old Zamboanga (4-0) won her first two matches in ONE in convincing fashion and is turning heads in the women’s atomweight division.

She debuted in December last year in Malaysia, earning a unanimous decision victory over hometown bet Hayatun Jihin Radzuan.

Then in February in Singapore, she followed it up with another unanimous decision win against veteran Mei Yamaguchi of Japan.

The twin victories sparked conversation that Ms. Zamboanga could be prime for a shot at the title currently held by long-time champion Angela “The Unstoppable” Lee.

As it turned out, the title shot buzz did not go unnoticed as ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong agreed and offered Ms. Zamboanga the next title shot against reigning champ Lee.

“I’m super grateful and overwhelmed. I can’t express how happy I am,” said Ms. Zamboanga, who finished information technology in college and currently trains in Thailand with the famous Fairtex Training Camp, of the big opportunity presented to her.

“This is the biggest challenge I will face and I will train so hard for this. She is one of the people I’ve always watched in MMA, and now I have to compete against her for the world title. It will definitely be a hard one. Everything I will show inside the Circle will be a surprise. I want to surprise everyone on fight night,” she added.

Ms. Zamboanga went on to say that as she prepares for her fight against Ms. Lee, she will also be thinking of winning for her team and the entire Philippines, making them proud.

“Beating a star like Angela Lee and winning a world title means so much to me. It’s like a dream come true — a win over my idol and a win for the Philippines,” she said.

“I represent my country not just locally but internationally. I’m so proud to be a Filipino. Even if I fight internationally, I can feel the support of the Filipino fans, even through their messages and cheers for me.”

ONE Championship events are currently on hold as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic rages on. But it has expressed its determination and readiness to resume things once conditions permit so. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Best of All Time

Among the many offshoots of the airing of The Last Dance has been the revival of “Best of All Time” discussions in hoops circles. That Michael Jordan reportedly decided on thumbing up the production of the documentary series shortly after LeBron James, against whom he is often pitted for the accolade, engineered a remarkable comeback in the 2016 National Basketball Association Finals speaks volumes of his mindset, not to mention competitive spirit. He had previously sat on comprehensive behind-the-scenes footage of the Bulls’ title run in 1998, content in his place at the top.

In any case, reception to The Last Dance has been overwhelmingly in Jordan’s favor. The timing was nothing short of perfect. It not only had a captive audience under quarantine and thirsty for compelling entertainment. Prevailing circumstances ensured that recency bias would favor his position; in an ESPN survey taken shortly after the seventh and eighth episodes became available last week, fans picked him in a landslide over James through a dozen different categories. Mission accomplished, and on several fronts.

Not that Jordan needed to be given air time equivalent to three-quarters of an hour speaking without filters in order to dictate the narrative of The Last Dance. In a deal he made with NBA Entertainment, he was always going to have the last say about any part of the series deftly directed by 30 For 30 veteran Jason Hehir. All the same, it’s clear that he was stoked enough to remind all and sundry of the hold he had — and still has — over the sport. Which is all well and good. What isn’t: how players with vested interests have also used the occasion to pile on James.

Take Paul Pierce, for instance. Never one to give his longtime nemesis much credit, he noted in “NBA Countdown” yesterday that James shouldn’t even be part of the Top Five. “What has LeBron did (sic) to build up any organization from the ground?” He asked. “I’m talking about these players, Top Five players. Bill Russell built the organization of Boston, Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe, Bird. These guys are all-time Top 10 players who helped build their organization or continued the tradition.”

Pierce’s take is, to be sure, informed by his dealings with James, who — save for a brief period in the late 2000s — had his number throughout his playing career. Nonetheless, he seems to hold his rival to a standard more apt for general managers. And, needless to say, other analysts in the episode called him out for his outlandish position. Interestingly enough, Jordan has kept quiet all this time, preferring to let others do the talking. And, following The Last Dance, others have, and will for some time to come.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

alcuaycong@bworldonline.com

Baguio’s battle against COVID-19

By Michaela Tangan
Features Writer, The Philippine STAR

 A lot is yet to be cleared and understood about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). What remains evident is that collaborative efforts have to be pushed to decelerate or halt the transmission of the virus.

While the medical field is attending to patients in hospitals and the scientific community is finding a cure or vaccine in laboratories, civic bodies must safeguard their communities to avoid a more disruptive outbreak.

To avoid rummaging in the dark, local governments in the Philippines are encouraged to consider adopting and weaving into their strategies the best practices of other cities or municipalities. One of the few cities currently looked up to is Baguio.

According to the Baguio’s public information office, the city has conducted a total of 3,192 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests and 1,614 rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) since the COVID-19 outbreak. As of May 19, it recorded 32 confirmed cases. Of the number, there are two active cases, 29 recoveries and one death.

 While residents in the city have recognized for their discipline and respect for laws and regulations, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong also cited early contact tracing and mass testing as key components to COVID-19 prevention.

“From the start, the local government decided to deviate from the DOH protocol so that persons under investigation (suspect, probable, confirmed) with severe symptoms were already isolated with the provision of available isolation facilities,” Mr. Magalong shared.

The Baguio City local government unit (LGU) also conducted early contact tracing of close contacts of suspect, probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases. This allowed health officials to assess their condition and impose the 14-day mandatory isolation, either in their residences or isolation facilities, depending on the symptoms shown.

“With limited test kits donated to the city, mass testing was done to persons under investigation (PUIs) and persons under monitoring (PUMs) to determine their health condition while undergoing the quarantine period, and for them to be isolated once they have moderate to severe symptoms. Those who tested positive were subjected to confirmatory tests through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine available at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center,” he said.

Taking the next steps 

Baguio’s LGU has maintained stringent implementation of city ordinances, observance of liquor ban and curfew hours, strict border control, and aggressive information drives as they gradually transitioned from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to general community quarantine last May 15.

The city still observes Sunday as a “lockdown day.” Only vital establishments are allowed to operate and only essential workers are permitted to leave their homes. Senior citizens are also allowed to go to groceries, markets and drugstores on this day.

Baguio also recently passed an ordinance that mandates people to wear masks in public places (buildings, national roads or highways, sidewalks, walkways, public conveyance, and other similar establishments), workplaces (whether enclosed or outdoor), public and private vehicles (while plying city roads, alleyways, or streets), and while transacting business.

Although 80% of businesses are already operational under GCQ, they are only allowed to operate from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

According to Mr. Magalong, aggressive information and education campaigns will also continue through various social and mainstream media platforms. This is to educate Baguio residents about COVID-19 and inform them about the implementation of precautionary measures.

The city also continuously monitors the condition of PUIs and PUMs through barangay health emergency response teams (BHERTs) to ensure the execution of precautionary and preventive measures.

For its borders, only those coming for essential travels, returning overseas Filipino workers who coordinated with OWWA, returning residents, and COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases ((IATF-IED)-authorized persons will be allowed to enter.

“The local government will also continue to close its borders to people from other areas, except Benguet, to ensure that ill people will not be able to enter the city and spread the virus, which will ruin the city’s gains during the quarantine period,” he said.

Business priorities to consider when recovering from the COVID-19 crisis

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a world-changing event. For many business executives, the toughest leadership test is how to deal with the coronavirus crisis and its aftermath.

For business leaders across the Philippines, the actions they take now and in the weeks ahead — especially as quarantines are modified or loosened — will define them and their companies. “Even if the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic varies across industry sectors and regions, it is no exaggeration to recognize that the struggle is real,” said Marivic Españo, chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of P&A Grant Thornton.

CEOs working urgently to balance dozens of critical priorities each day are starting to focus on two leading questions: “How can we navigate through the crisis to emerge stronger than others in our industry?” and “How can we learn through this experience to win in a new world?”

As economic life appears to stabilize, organizations need to be ready with the right strategy to outperform their industry peers. Companies that adopt more quickly to the initial transition — and, eventually, to the new environment — will emerge stronger.

However, this recovery will be different. Factors such as how widely different markets bounce back or whether people are forced back into quarantine with subsequent outbreaks of COVID-19 complicate the picture. Knowing what will happen next is impossible. However, it is possible to consider the lessons of the distant and recent past when thinking about the future.

The following elements will be essential in shaping the new norm — and business leaders will need to come to terms with them: workforce, capital and resources, operational model, and supply chain.

Workforce

During these uncertain times, businesses must assess their plans and realign their activities to adapt to the new rules prescribed by the government. “Businesses must be willing to try new practices, switch to better tools, and update action plans for the short, medium, and long terms,” said Ms. Españo. “Updated processes will help businesses adapt to a changing market and set them on track to a brighter future,” she added.

Capital and resources

Pre-COVID-19, cash budgets were calculated monthly. Since the coronavirus crisis, however, organizations have been reviewing their cash assets as often as weekly. How do you budget your organization’s cash during such times? First, project your accounts receivable realistically and review other cash sources. Next, list down all your expenses and other cash outflows. Finally, analyze your accounts payable to suppliers, taxes, and payroll from the previous period.

Operational model

Rethink your operational model and allow the business to adapt. In the long term, think about implementing process automation and integrating technology into operations. When reviewing business activities, consider the shift to Industrial Revolution 4.0 or digital transformation. “Set new business goals with such changes in mind, make informed decisions, and take advantage of every opportunity. Dare to innovate,” said Ms. Españo.

Supply chain

When a crisis such as COVID-19 hits, organizations need to reinforce their supply chain to continue meeting customer and client demand. Securing your supply chains is paramount. It is done by assessing the situation quickly and then moving forward with an action plan aimed at preventing problems and implementing solutions. Monitor inventory levels as well by establishing critical inventory thresholds and building stockpiles, as needed. Likewise, strengthen relationships with customers by finding alternative shipping methods, adjusting delivery schedules, and being transparent about your challenges. Lastly, cement supplier relationships by controlling your cash flow and negotiating payment terms.

The uncertainty that is this far-reaching makes it challenging to control the challenges at hand, let alone in the years ahead. It is imperative to reconstruct for the future and not solve the problems of the past.

Companies have begun to consider their return to health. For most, the pre-pandemic business as usual won’t be nearly enough. To move beyond survival mode, organizations need to think beyond their defaults, reimagining how they recover, operate, organize, and use technology, setting the foundations for sustainable success. In a twist of irony, a crisis like this coronavirus pandemic brings new opportunities and should be a trigger to explore new directions.

Local brands get online boost as Lift Lokal goes live

As stay-at-home orders temper consumer demand and mandatory lockdowns shutter stores and establishments, many small and independently-run businesses are feeling the pinch of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

To help ease the strain and provide a lifeline for local businesses, Veronica Eala and her team (in partnership with Luxx Lash and The Good Trade PH) created Lift Lokal, a non-profit initiative and online portal that aims to serve as an avenue for local businesses to promote their respective brands and trades.

Grounded in the Filipino spirit of bayanihan, Lift Lokal aims to assist local and independent businesses by giving everyone easy access to brands they can support. Through the online platform, visitors can learn about not only these brands’ products, but also the social impact initiatives they’re championing. After choosing a product, visitors will be redirected to the partner brand’s online store to make a purchase.

So far, Lift Lokal has partnered with brands like Numad, Habi Home Shop, Tropik Beatnik, Orlas Studios, Luxx Lash, and Kool PH.

“Through this initiative, our goal is to foster a community of support to both local independent brands and groups that are strongly impacted by the pandemic,” said Eala.

“Our country is held together by medical and service frontliners who fight to keep us safe and at home,” she said. “By closing the loop, we can support local brands while simultaneously helping them strengthen their initiatives towards these people who protect us. We want to send the message that this change can start with anyone. And that together, we can close the loop.”

Brands looking to partner with Lift Lokal must have their own online storefront from facilitating purchases, as well as an initiative that supports groups greatly affected by, or are at risk, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lift Lokal​ does not charge any fees from brand partners.

Interested parties may register anytime at https://bit.ly/liftlokalreg or learn more about the platform at their website. 

Globe starts weekly rapid antibody testing of frontline employees

As the government eases up community quarantine restrictions, Globe Telecom has started the weekly rapid antibody testing of all its frontliners to ensure that both the workforce and stakeholders are protected from COVID-19 spread and infection.

At least 15% of the Company’s over 8,000 employees have been working in the frontline as critical skeletal force since the beginning of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in mid March and an additional 5% are returning to their posts as Globe starts reopening its Stores and fielding more personnel for network build, expansion, and maintenance.

“The safety of our employees and the public are of paramount importance to us.  That is why we have decided to do mass testing of our frontline workers on a weekly basis using the rapid antibody testing kits.  If some sort of positivity appears in that particular test, then we are going to do a more extensive test, ” said Renato Jiao, Globe Chief Human Resource Officer.

Globe is working in close coordination with Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) in screening its own employees and those of its service contractors. The test kits, which passed the high standards set by AC Health, use a person’s blood sample to measure antibodies which are the body’s response in fighting an infection.  Results can be released in half an hour.

The move is also in support of the efforts by Task Force T3 (Test, Trace, Treat) to ramp up testing operations and healthcare capacity in the country to save lives and livelihoods during the pandemic.  Task T3, which AC Health is part of, is a public-private partnership created to help the government locate, isolate and care for COVID19 carriers to keep communities safe and manage transmission of the virus.

Aside from rapid testing, Globe will continue to observe strict health protocols as mandated by government guidelines upon those who are returning to work.

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