Assignment Asia: How Philippines' poor struggle under the lockdown

philippine president rodrigo duterte has declined a lockdown of the capital metro manila tourism is during which the movement of everyone will be significantly limited okay on january 30th philippines recorded its first kobe 19 case in manila unbeknownst to many the virus would manifest a month later with over a hundred cases spread across major cities [Music] on march 16 president rodrigo duterte locked down major cities like cebu to curb the outbreak non-essential industries closed or implemented work from home programs public transportation was suspended community events postponed while many filipinos could take necessary precautions the urban poor could not christie behold from cebu is one of them mama needy families were forced to stay home even if it meant being cramped together in spaces no larger than the standard bathroom [Music] foreign around 20 million filipinos live in slums where they have to survive poor housing conditions lack of sewage facilities and little to no access to clean water local government units struggle to take care of thousands of families philip zafra a city councillor headed relief operations in one of cebu's main villages irregardless of economic strata everyone is affected on this but this is the impact we are also preparing to provide them the provisions the basic necessities and essentials at least [Music] when desperate christie resorts to stealing vegetables from her neighbors although the government promised cash assistance for the needy when we met christy in april she had not received any money only relief goods that came weeks apart and in waves but we know for a fact that the government cannot sustain the same if we will reach up to how five six months or one year that's one thing that our uh medical expert vis-a-vis our economic team should look into more seriously and focused because sustains economia without risking the health of the people because we could not just be placed for so many months under ecq under the enhanced community quarantine or ecq each household had one quarantine pass enabling one family member to go out for essential goods and services residents found outside without a valid reason could be fined jailed or made to do community service police then we have to really put them on cell phone but for some urban poor they'd rather get fined arrested or shamed online than stay hungry or cooped up in homes that become furnaces during humid summers where temperatures can hit 41 during the lockdown surgical masks and sanitizers were severely in lack even in hospitals and healthcare centers and for people like christie these vital items were too expensive this lack of protection worries experts as they fear many cases are going undetected so if there's no testing in a community the no case just means that no one is detected as of now so i think that should put things into context that we should be a heightened alert the philippines has one of the highest tovi 19 mortality rates in southeast asia early detection could help curb the outbreak and prevent more deaths so the government has set a goal to test one percent of the population slightly more than a million people in cebu authorities are strategically testing at least 10 percent of the population or 23 000 families i would rather that we will conduct the testing on the densely populated areas [Music] division perhaps long areas really are a big problem we are actually expecting it to increase once we expand testing but good thing now is that the local government unit of cebu and other cities are are admitting to that particular reality and we're they're actually looking for sites that we can convert into isolation facilities or temporary treatment and monetary facilities samples are taken but results have been delayed as the labs have not been able to keep up and for the low income getting tested is a risk admittedly idea of health care is health care consultation equals cost people have already issued a particular package for coveted in cases moderate severe or mild cases so not something should be take the anxiety of our urban poor communities if they eventually become sick but many are still not assured phil health the national health insurer previously bore the full cost of kobe 19 treatment then in mid-april they announced that only subsidies will be given that's not the only sign that philippines healthcare system is draining under the weight of the pandemic i am doctor angela de leon i am an anesthesiologist i am the one responsible for intubating critically ill patients with making affected patients this process of intubation is a life-saving procedure however it is so risky in such a way that you could create aerosols or droplets that put us at risk of getting infected with that disease according to the world health organization in the western pacific region the philippines has one of the highest number of medical staff infected by kovi 19. we have what we call the supply of those resources and dpes but those supplies we get runs out and are and sometimes we resort to reusing them in the front lines we're trying our best to combat um these deficiencies by securing enough supplies and through some donations from from our donors philippines has one of the highest number of medical staff infected with program maybe because of the enormous number of patients coming in and that though there are protocols stated but mostly there are due to uncooperative patients during history taking patients have been known to lie about their travel history and medical conditions out of fear of being shamed for having code 19. i encourage everyone to do their part by staying at home while we are battling this virus while we are on the front lines the message to filipinos is clear stay at home to stay out of hospital as simple as it sounds it remains a feat for people like christie the strict lockdown was lifted on june 1st and quarantined measures have eased to revive the economy industries like manufacturing retail food and beverages and others are operating with health protocols in place but the government has not reached their goal of testing one percent of the population and there are concerns about undetected cases community quarantine home isolation hand washing work from home options these things are helping if you relax too early you could see the transmission going to our vulnerable group for christy and her family living hand to mouths meant the daily hustle was their only means of survival the pandemic has made their difficult lives even harder but she has not lost hope [Music] [Music] foreign

Channel: CGTN

Views: 326,840

Keywords: CGTN, News, Asia, Philippine, Society, Coronavirus, COVID-19

Id: VmSy1Zok-c8

Length: 13min 25sec (805 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 09 2020