Merry Christ-mask season

It’s the season to be jolly once again but unfortunately, Covid is still very much around us, especially during the Christmas season. The World Health Organization has declared a Covid-19 subvariant dubbed as JN.1 as a “variant of interest” as it appears to be more contagious than others and is driving new cases.

Variants of interest display genetic changes that can make them spread more quickly, like in the case of the JN.1 subvariant which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the cause of about 21 percent new Covid-19 infections in the United States – making it the dominant version of the virus.

Experts call the JN.1 a “granddaughter” of the “Pirola” subvariant which was first noticed over the summer because it displayed more then 30 changes to its spike proteins, which are the means for the coronavirus to enter human cells and cause infections. There are indications that the JN.1 could become the leading variant across the globe in a matter of weeks – with countries in Europe such as Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain and the Netherlands showing a rapid increase in cases along with rising hospitalizations. This spike in cases has also been noted in Australia, Canada and countries in Asia that include Singapore, which reported over 56,000 cases of Covid-19 during the period covering Dec. 3 to 9, according to reports.

In the Philippines, the DOH’s Covid-19 tracker showed an increase in the number of active cases, mostly in the National Capital Region. The rising number of cases has prompted the Department of Labor and Employment to encourage companies all over the country to shift to the work-from-home setup and adopt other measures to protect workers and prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

Those who experience Covid-19 symptoms are also urged to undergo voluntary swab testing just to be on the safe side. The Octa Research group also noted that one in every five people in NCR who have undergone the RT-PCR swab test have shown positive results. Citing data from the DOH, Octa says the seven-day positivity rate has increased to 21 percent as of Dec. 17 compared to 13.4 percent a week earlier.

Senate committee on health and demography chairman Senator Bong Go stressed the need to prepare for any health emergency that may come along the way. The senator also highlighted the importance of improving the resilience of communities and the health systems on which they depend, recalling the lessons that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us.

While the Department of Health is not recommending the return of mandatory masking, health institutions like the Philippine General Hospital have started implementing the mandatory use of masks inside the hospital.

“If you are otherwise a healthy individual with no known illnesses and younger than 60 years, no need to test as long as no symptoms. If you are otherwise healthy and young, but develop symptoms such as cough, colds, sore throat, fever and other new symptoms, take the test (COVID antigen or COVID RT-PCR) immediately and report results accordingly,” UP-PGH’s new guidelines read.

Considering that it’s the holiday season with people flocking to department stores and retail establishments for their last-minute shopping, the best gift that everyone can give to themselves and their family is to be more careful and perhaps wear a mask, especially when going to crowded places to prevent the spread of Covid-19. After all, it wouldn’t hurt to have a merry Christ-mask season!

Conflicting conflicts

Tensions between the Philippines and China over disputed maritime territories continue, with the two nations issuing conflicting claims over the recent incident involving Philippine resupply boats that were water-cannoned by the China Coast Guard.

While the President has stated that we should be “very careful” and not to “overreact,” he also pointed out that “a paradigm shift” is needed on the West Philippine Sea issue because “traditional methods of diplomacy” (such as sending notes verbales) have shown little progress, with the current diplomatic efforts with China headed in a “poor direction.”

Saying that a “more assertive” China poses a real challenge, the President emphasized that “We have to come up with a new concept, a new principle, a new idea so that we move… the needle the other way,” adding that the Philippines and the region as a whole must find new solutions to the issues in the South China Sea, which he described as “the most complex geopolitical challenge that the world faces.”

China is claiming almost 90 percent of the whole South China Sea – including the West Philippine Sea which is part of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. But as Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro pointed out, in truth and in fact, no country in the world unequivocally supports China’s claims over the whole of the South China Sea.

As President Marcos Jr. stated, the Philippines will continue talking to its partners in the Indo-Pacific region and, if necessary, to the rest of the world in order to de-escalate the tension in the West Philippine Sea and avoid incidents that might cause an actual violent conflict due to a mistake or a misunderstanding.

During the telephone conversation between Foreign Affairs Secretary Ricky Manalo and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, both sides noted the importance of dialogue in addressing issues.

The bottom line is – we have to find a way out of this quagmire. Anyone in his right mind does not want a major conflict to take place, so these disputes need to be approached with calmness, focusing on a very important aspect: respect for each one’s sovereignty and maritime territorial rights.

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