A  great  deal  of COVID-19 infections is believed to  take  place  in transportation  when masses  of  people  take to buses and light rails to go work. Still the best  way to combat the virus  is the use  of  a face mask, disposable gloves, and disinfectant solutions  for the hands.  A face shield  can  be an additional  barrier of protection for the eyes.

This  advice  is from Dr.  Maricar  Limpin  of  the Philippine Coalition on the Prevention and Control  of Non-Communicable  Diseases, one of  the medical  groups  that  had appealed to President  Duterte for a “time-out”  to slow down the virus  and  give health workers a two-week   respite  from  their  hectic schedule  in hospitals.

The virus  has  a lesser  chance to spread  when air is freely circulated in a vehicle, she said. As for the plastic barriers installed by some  jeepney  drivers, she said,  they should  be  disinfected  after every  use.  The same is true for the plastic barriers between  a  motorcycle driver and  his  passenger.

Studies  by  the US Center   for Disease Control  and the  European Center for Disease  Prevention and Control   also show  that poor ventilation in confined spaces is associated with increased  transmissions. “COVID-19  is thought  to be primarily transmitted  via large respiratory droplets. However,  an increasing number  of  outbreak  reports  indicate the role of aerosols  (smaller  droplets  which can remain in the air longer),” one study said. The aerosols could spread  if air is recirculated  in  a  building’s air-conditioning system. ,

These are among  the  latest  reports  worldwide  that should help our own  officials as they move  to  ease the restrictions on the  movement  of people. We had a  return  to a two-week Modified  Enhanced  Community Quarantine  (MECQ)  granted  as  a ”time-out” for hospital workers  and it  is due to end  August  17.

The less restrictive  General  Community  Quarantine (GCQ)  begins  on August  18. The light  rails and buses wil l begin  to run again to carry the workers to various offices and establishments, such as  malls and  shopping centers  allowed to open with limited  50 percent capacity. Rails and buses  will  be similarly limited.  Jeepneys  on  approved  routes  will also return. 

 If this schedule  is followed without  any further interruption, the  coming two-week  General Community Quarantine (GCQ)  should be followed  by a more open Modified  GCQ , then  –hopefully – by the lifting of all restrictions.  It  all depends  on the virus which shown an uncanny ability to  return when  it seemed to have died down.

A previous pandemic,  the  Spanish flu,   ravaged the world  for two  years  from   1918 to 1920,  infecting  about 500 million people, a  third of the world population  at that time, and causing about 50 million deaths.

 The ongoing  COVID-19 pandemic has now infected  over 20 million people  and  caused about 740,000 deaths.   It shows no sign of abating,  especially since no cure or  vaccine has yet  been  found,   and so we must all remain alert  to our surroundings and other people,  protecting  ourselves as best as we can with proper distancing,  face masks, clean hands, and soon also with face shields.