Malacañang said on Thursday that, so far, there are no indications that the A(H1N1) flu virus would have an adverse impact on the economy even as the country has 727 persons infected with it.
Former senator and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) leader Ernesto Herrera, however, warned the government against such nonchalance, saying the full brunt of the economic impact will be felt when the flu spreads in work places.
Gary Olivar, deputy presidential spokesman for economic affairs, said in a news briefing that public-health measures being implemented to address the health issue have been “adequate” and that the virus has claimed only one casualty—a woman with preexisting illnesses.
“If you look at these different responses and activities, they don’t seem to rise to the level of something that would have a material effect on our economic growth....In terms of what we know now and what we’ve seen so far about this disease, there’s nothing to warrant alarm about the effect of it on our growth prospects,” Olivar said.
He said the best way to protect the economy against the possible dampening effect of the virus is by keeping the public calm even as the number of confirmed cases continue to rise.
“Panic may have an effect [on economic activity] and that’s why we keep on reminding people that there’s nothing to panic about because what we have to fear is fear itself....We should not panic. The facts do not point us to that direction,” Olivar said.
Asked whether the government is monitoring the impact of A(H1N1) virus on the economy, Olivar said the government “remains alert to the possibilities.”
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said increased government spending, as well as continued remittances of overseas Filipinos “would be enough for the economy to [stay] afloat.”
On the proposal of Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon to impose a temporary shutdown of schools and businesses to contain the spread of the virus, Olivar and Fajardo noted that the situation in the Philippines has not reached alarming levels and cases continue to be generally mild.
“I don’t think that’s necessary. The important thing is that the virus is treatable, we have all the mitigating measures, our health officials are handling it and managing it very well. We just need the cooperation of the public. If we do [Biazon’s proposal], that is the time when our economy will really go down. I don’t think that this is the right approach to solve the problem,” Fajardo said.
Olivar said the situation in Mexico is different as there were thousands of people infected by the virus and over a hundred people died because of it.
Dr. Joy Pabellon a medical specialist, of the Applied Public Health Division of the Department of Health, said that the Mexican government was compelled to shutdown schools and businesses temporarily because at the time, the A(H1N1) flu virus was still new and not much was known about it and how to treat it.
“At that time... they didn’t know how this would evolve. Now, after a few months we’ve seen it in the Philippines, we’ve seen that it’s mild, like our seasonal flu. It is self-limiting, therefore, even with our guidelines there is actually no reason for us to do that because it’s mild,” Pabellon said.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has urged the government and the private sector to adopt more aggressive strategies to contain the spread of influenza A(H1N1) virus, warning that the lingering virus, if left unchecked, could soon invade the country’s factories and diminish labor productivity in a big way.
TUCP secretary general and former senator Ernesto Herrera cited the case of the House of Representatives, which was compelled to temporarily shut down after one of its employees, a 49-year-old woman, became the country’s first A(H1N1) virus fatality.
“If the Batasan Pambansa complex, with some 4,000 congressional staff members, were a manufacturing facility forced to close down for a week, one can just imagine the potential drag on labor and overall economic output,” said Herrera, former chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development.
“Like schools, factories and offices definitely have a high risk of becoming the potential sources of ‘community’ outbreaks because these are places where people congregate and interact in large numbers everyday for an extended period,” Herrera pointed out.
Herrera made the statement shortly after TUCP found out that the Philippines now ranks 12th worldwide in terms of “laboratory-confirmed cases” of influenza A(H1N1) virus, based on World Health Organization (WHO) June 24 update with 445 confirmed influenza A(H1N1) cases, including one death, in the country.
Based on the WHO June 24 update, the 11 other countries with the greatest number of Influenza A(H1N1) cases are the United States (21,449 cases, 87 deaths); Mexico (7,847 cases, 115 deaths); Canada (6,457 cases, 15 deaths); Chile (4,315 cases, four deaths); the United Kingdom (2,905 cases, one death); Australia (2,857 cases, two deaths); Argentina (1,213 cases, seven deaths); China (906 cases, zero death); Japan (893 cases, zero death); Thailand (774 cases, zero death); and Spain (593 cases, zero death).
Herrera also chided Education Secretary Jesli Lapus for “belittling” A(H1N1) flu virus, when the latter likened the virus to “sore eyes or cough.”
“Even the common flu is a debilitating ailment. It may or may not be fatal, but it certainly incapacitates you until recovery. So comparing the far more vicious influenza A(H1N1) to sore eyes or cough is like comparing apples to oranges,” Herrera said.
He earlier urged private employers and government agencies to relax their sick leave rules in order to encourage staff to stay home if they develop flu-like symptoms. This way, he said, firms and offices are not only kept free from influenza A(H1N1) virus, but also avoid or minimize potential productivity losses that may arise once large segments of their personnel get infected.
By Business Mirror
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