Hindi kumbinsido ang isang medical expert sa naging basehan ng gobyerno sa pag-apruba ng rekomendasyong bawasan ang 1-metrong distansya ng mga pasahero sa pampublikong sasakyan.
“Since there is inherent risk involved, I would prefer that they do pilot implementations with careful observation of any spikes in cases and with informed consent from people who may be affected. I do not think a broad rollout with ever-decreasing distances in a matter of weeks is prudent,” ani Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvana, isang infectious diseases expert.
Ayon sa doktor, wala pang matibay na ebidensyang epektibo nga laban sa pagkahawa ng COVID-19 ang striktong pagsunod sa minimum health standards.
“The net effect of physical distancing ALONE in decreasing COVID-19 transmission is about 82%; of masks ALONE is 85%; of eye protection/face shields ALONE is 78%.”
“There aren’t good prospective studies that show the combined effect of all these interventions, and we also don’t know how well people stick to them in public transport.”
Ang pahayag na ito ng eksperto ay bunsod ng mga diskusyon kung makatwiran nga ba ang rekomendasyon ng Department of Transportation (DOTr) sa safety protocols at ekonomiya.
“These kinds of policy decisions are difficult to base on data alone especially when the data doesn’t exist. At least some of that decision-making will be driven by expert opinion (especially since there IS NO GOOD EVIDENCE EITHER WAY) and competing contexts – need to get to work, limited transport capacity, use of mitigating measures.”
Payo ng eksperto dapat maging maingat ang gobyerno sa pagpapatupad ng bagong panuntunan. Aabutin pa raw kasi ng dalawa hanggang apat na linggo mula sa unang araw ng implementasyon bago makita ang epekto nito.
Nilinaw ni Dr. Salvana na kahit miyembro siya ng technical advisory group ng Inter-Agency Task Force ay hindi siya kasali sa mga bumuo ng rekomendasyon.
Naniniwala ang eksperto na may rason ang nakonsultang mga doktor at scientists kaya nila inaprubahan ang panukala.
“There are many considerations for increasing capacity of transport – real concerns that impact livelihood and economic sustainability.”
“My opinion though is that we should go slow and adjust according to what the evidence tells us. This virus has surprised us so many times and we should be very careful and not underestimate it once more. Stay safe.”
