(Un)common Sense by James Veloso
(Un)Common Sense

Undetected cases on the rise, too

Apr 22, 2021, 10:00 PM
James Veloso

James Veloso

Writer/Columnist

LAST September, I had already talked about the sudden proliferation of colorum shuttle vans that seem to be making a killing due to the lack of public transport to the province amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Almost half a year later, it’s becoming clear that these colorum vans still make considerable profits despite the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) move to reopen more bus routes to the provinces.

This time, however, they have moved to advertising trips to provinces through Facebook.

Here’s how it’s done: dispatchers would post on Facebook groups advertising their van services to people, and when the necessary number of passengers is reached, they are picked up door to door and taken to their destination.

Of course, they now also require passengers to have with them negative RT-PCR test results as checkpoints have been placed in various entry points in Metro Manila by the DOTr and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) against Covid-19.

But the facts remain that: 1) These shuttles are illegal, and 2) They pose a serious risk to public health.

Some of my friends who are also bus enthusiasts claim that some local government units are allegedly in cahoots with colorum van operators, which was why they are opposed to the DOTr’s moves to bring back public transportation to the provinces.

Now that’s just a wild conspiracy theory, in my opinion.

But I’ll repeat a vital talking point: these colorum vans are the biggest reason why we should re-allow our provincial buses to run again.

-o0o-

When I wrote that article a few weeks ago, where I predicted three more weeks of an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) over our province, a friend of mine made another wild guess: it’s going to be one whole summer of ECQ.

Since then, the IATF has placed the so-called “NCR Plus Bubble” under a “modified” ECQ until the end of April.

The trouble is, a week since that declaration, we are still going above the ten-thousand mark when it comes to additional Covid-19 cases every few days.

And here’s the worst part: the Department of Health (DOH) has tacitly admitted that the decrease in Covid-19 cases in the past few days was due to some laboratories conducting Covid-19 tests not being able to submit their data on time.

Which means that the number of active (and undetected) Covid-19 cases could be higher than what the DOH is putting out every day.

More hospitals in Laguna province have also declared “full capacity” in their Covid-19 wards, forcing some patients to go farther for medical treatment.

Sadly, a few of them didn’t even make it to the emergency room.

-o0o-

The seriousness of the situation is now creeping on me as more and more friends post stories on Facebook about a family member, relative, or friend that have succumbed to the virus.

Admittedly, the nervous wreck in me has been triggered by these posts, making me stay inside the house all day long.

But what about those who had to earn their keep and do their duty in the midst of this crisis?


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