New changes are required to stop spread of COVID19 - DOH 10
CAGAYAN DE ORO, May 23 (PIA) – “We really have to adapt to change if we want to stop this virus from spreading,” said Dr. Ian Christian Gonzales, head of the Infectious Diseases Cluster of Department of Health (DOH)-10.
During “Talakayan sa PIA” virtual media forum conducted by the Philippine Information AGency (PIA)-10, Dr. Gonzales admitted that having to go through change in the way we do things is hard.
“It’s very hard to change because we are trying to change behaviors and attitudes,” he added.
The new behaviors include observance of physical distancing, wearing of face mask, proper handwashing and minimize social interaction or by simply staying at home.
“Why do we need to do this? Because it is important to look at the nature of the virus," he explained.
Dr. Gonzales said the virus thrives on human body. It can be transferred or acquired through coughing and touching of saliva or phlegm of infected individuals. So, the virus cannot move by itself.
The only being that can transmit the virus is human - the people. “If we keep moving around, then there will be more interactions and more people will get infected,” he stressed.
"How to prevent?" Dr. Gonzales said "let us maintain physical distance one to two meters, wearing of face masks and washing of hands often, thoughthese things are not normal for Filipinos."
Among the challenges include availability of water and soap in public places and even homes in the hinterland barangays.
“We say this is new normal because we cannot say that we can stop this in one month, or three months,” he said.
"We need to sustain these behaviors until there is a significant drop of number of infections. When will that happen? We don’t know because this is a new virus,” Dr. Gonzales maintained.
He urged the people to really cooperate on the measures enforced. “We depend on a mature and responsible citizenry to be able to stop the spread of this pandemic,” Gonzales emphasized
“No amount of laws, no amount of enforcement, no amount of public health guidelines will stop the virus if individuals will not cooperate. We need the cooperation of all, if people will not cooperate, we will not defeat the virus, instead the virus will defeat us,” Dr. Gonzales concluded. (JAKA/PIA10)
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