Top official calls for 'shame campaign' against Manila virus patients

Manolo B. Jara, Correspondent

A top government official urged the launching of a "shame campaign" against patients of the novel coronavirus pandemic, who refuse to undergo isolation in a facility and instead hide or insist on observing home quarantine without the necessary safeguards to prevent its rapid spread.

"Now, I believe it's right that we have a shame campaign because COVID-19 is no joke. Just imagine how many there are — let's not let it increase. The government will do everything to stop this pandemic," Undersecretary Martin Dino of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) told a radio interview.

Dino, the DILG undersecretary for village affairs, was reacting to reports that many patients either found positive or asymptomatic, meaning showing no signs of the dreaded ailment, have refused to enter government facilities and preferred to observe quarantine at home.

However, health officials have warned that allowing quarantine without observing the necessary conditions could lead to the spread of the virus especially among the immediately family members as well as their neighbours in a particular village.

In this light, officials cited the urgent need to allow patients to undergo home quarantine provided they meet strict pre-conditions — that they have to stay in separate rooms with toilet and bath.

Dino argued that those found positive for COVID-19 should not be kept a secret to enable the public to have the chance not to socialise with the patients and thus, help stop the rapid spread of the virus.

As of Saturday, the total COVID-19 cases in the Philippines stood at 65,304 with the death toll totalling 1,773 and recoveries at 22,067.

But at the rate of increase of the virus, experts being consulted by the government from the state-owned University of the Philippines warned that the number of COVID-19 cases could soar to about 85,000 by July 31.

Dino's statement, meanwhile, came as the government announced its adoption of a new programme called Operation Kalinga that called for the transfer of "stubborn" patients found in house-to-house searches in the affected villages to be led by health workers with the assistance of the police.

But despite Dino's insistence on the viability of the "shame campaign," another DILG undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, the agency's spokesman, noted that Dino's statement did not reflect the official policy of government on the issue.

In a separate interview, Malaya said the government still wanted to protect the rights of patients even with the rapid spread of the virus in the country.

Malaya emphasised: "No, we will not do a shame campaign because we have to protect the rights of patients as well. If he (Dino) did say that, I think he's only expressing his personal opinion."