Minors in low-risk virus areas may be allowed outside homes: experts

ABS-CBN News Posted at Dec 02 2020 08:41 AM | Updated as of Dec 02 2020 08:55 AM MANILA - Minors in areas with low-risk of virus transmission may be allowed to go outside their homes, doctors and scientists said Wednesday. Children below 8 years old who cannot wear masks properly should not be allowed outside, according to Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of health department's technical advisory group. "Alam naman natin ang mga bata hindi naman talaga sila nakakagamit ng masks nang maayos at mild ang symptoms nila bagamat pwede siyang mapasa kung may matatanda sa bahay at merong chronic illnesses," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo. (We know children cannot really properly wear masks and they have mild symptoms but can transmit if there are elderly people at home or those who have chronic illnesses.) "Pwede po talaga magsurge dahil sa mga superspreader na mga bata." (There can be a surge because of superspreader children.) "In places like Batanes, Ilocos, mas maganda po siguro kung (it's better if they do) open air activities rather than a mall," he said. Allowing children to go outside may contribute to overcrowding, according to Guido David, a member of OCTA Research Group. "We know from science na 'yung (that) overcrowding is one of the triggers for community transmission. Gusto nating iwasan 'yan (We want to avoid that)," he said. "Nasa implementation 'yan. Kunyari sa low-risk areas, wala namang masyadong problema dun. Sa mga epicenters ngayon, like NCR and Davao di natin alam paano maiimplement 'yun nang maayos." (It depends on the implementation. In low-risk areas, there's not much problem. In epicenters like NCR and Davao, we don't know how this can be implemented well.) Children are more likely to contract the virus than transmit it, according to Dr. Anna Ong Lim, member of the health department's technical advisory group and former president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines. They will however contribute to crowds when allowed to go outside, Lim added. "Kung lumalabas ka bilang nagtatrabaho tinatanggap natin as risk kasi s'yempre kabuhayan natin 'yan," she told Teleradyo in a separate interview. (If you go outside for work we accept that risk because it's for our livelihood.) "Pero kung lalabas tayo para mamasyal tapos i-expose natin 'yung sarili natin at ating mga anak sa risk na mahawa, iuwi natin to sa bahay natin na meron tayong elderly na kasama. You would have to think very hard kung sulit ba ang exposure na 'yun." (But if you go outside to take a walk and you expose yourself and your children and go home to elderly people, you would have to think very hard if the exposure is worth it.) When asked about quarantine fatigue among children, Lim said they are "very resilient." "As long as their home environment is nurturing. Baka nga mas maganda pa ang adaptation nila kesa sa atin," she said. (They might even have a better adaptation than us.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more