Many have reacted negatively to the recent move of Acting Department of Health (DOH) Janette Garin and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang to check up on the quarantined peacekeepers on Caballo Island without wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). This move has prompted senators to react and question the judgment of both officers that could possibly put the country in danger as the acting DOH Secretary is set to participate in the budget deliberations of her department today (November 24).
For his part, the AFP Chief of Staff gave his word that he would submit to being quarantined for the prescribed 21 days should it be deemed necessary.
However, Sec. Garin says that there is nothing to fear as she explained that her actions are within protocol and in compliance with the WHO international protocol as well.
We were able to talk to Sec. Janette Garin on our show Kasangga Mo Ang Langit on DWIZ 882khz and on RPN provincial radio stations nationwide about the issue where Sec. Garin explained her actions to us and clarified some points of misunderstanding.
GARIN’S INTERPRETATION
First of all, the Secretary clarified that quarantine is not the same as isolation. This means that health workers need not approached the quarantined peacekeepers wearing PPE all the time. “Our entering protocols in Caballo Island are aligned with the WHO protocols,” she said.
She also explained that she went to the island along with the Gen. Catapang and Doctor Lyndon, an infectious disease expert, to assess the situation in the area and to clarify the protocol for dealing with the quarantined. “The Bureau of Quarantine were like us and did not wear any PPE. However, they saw that some who weren’t clear with the protocol were wearing PPE. They assumed that we were the ones in violation,” she said.
TRYING TO ERASE FEAR
Recently, a person in the island fell sick and contracted a fever. This put everyone on high alert mode as the person was brought to RITM for observation. According to Sec. Garin, this was what prompted people on the island to start wearing PPE.
“However, what is the guideline governing these actions? The PPE is a limited resource that we have to preserve. We can’t afford to use it when it is not necessary. In this case, it isn’t,” she said.
With their latest move, the question of whether the family members should be allowed to see the peacekeeper was brought up. Sec. Garin asked for the understanding of everyone as they are still trying to stabilize the environment before allowing any visitors to go to the island if deemed okay to do so.
She also called on the public to not react in fear because she knows what she is doing. “There was a protocol being followed here. They all passed the common inspection at the airport. This means that the 21-day quarantine is only there as a safety precaution,” she said.
WHAT IS ISOLATION?
I quoted a definition of Quarantine that states that it is “a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.” So what is the difference between this and isolation?
Sec. Garin said that according to the Bureau of Quarantine and the WHO, the isolation of a patient with Ebola only starts when they begin showing symptoms of the virus. “When we put a person in quarantine, we just limit their exposure to medical personnel because they have not yet shown signs of any symptom of Ebola. So this means that the use of PPE is not yet needed,” she said.
She also explained that wearing PPE for more than 45 minutes is considered unsafe and unhealthy and it is also for single use only. “This is why I had to come forward and ask that our protocol follow the WHO guidelines. As I said, we only have limited PPEs. We cannot afford to run out of them when they are really needed,” she said.
THE INCUBATION
I also asked Sec. Garin about the period of incubation. When my son, Reyster, was battling malaria, we were told that its incubation period was 15 days. This means that symptoms only show after 15 days. How does this related to ebola and the 21-day prescribed quarantine period?
The DOH acting secretary explained that the only way for ebola to be contagious is through contact via body fluids with the infected. She used the case of Mr. Duncan of America as an example. “He went home without knowing he had the virus. He lived with his girlfriend and her 4 kids. He even took them to school. However, none of them were infected by the virus. The only person who was infected was the nurse who was taking care of him when he was already vomiting and could not control his bowel movement. This means that only when the person infected starts showing symptoms can he be infectious,” she said. “As long as the quarantined does not show symptoms, he is still not infectious.”
SUMMATION
Sec. Garin has clarified that Ebola is not infectious in the way measles, common colds, and influenza are. Contact with body fluids is the only way to get infected. This is why majority of those infected are the health workers who take care of the patient and the people who bury them when they die.
There is therefore a need to observe extra caution. As one Australian epidemiologist puts it in his criticism of the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are “inadequate health worker protection guidelines”.
The only time we can all breathe normally again is when Dec. 2 comes rolling by without any case of Ebola occurring. Only then will Sec. Garin’s actions be justified.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
“Add to this is the potential that if unchecked, in time the virus could mutate, become transmissible and present a clearer and more present danger.” ―Robert Herriman
“EBOLA VIRUS put humanity at a great risk. We must act now and together to prevent further crisis.” ―Lailah Gifty Akita
“They’re playing Russian roulette with frontline health workers’ lives.” ―Robert Herriman