The World Health Organization
China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia unknown etiology
(unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China on December 31, 2019. From 31 December 2019
through 3 January 2020, a total of 44 case-patients with pneumonia of unknown
etiology were reported to WHO by the national authorities in China. During this
reported period, the
causal
agent was not identified.
On Tuesday February 11, 2020, the World
Health Organization (WHO) declared an official name for the new coronavirus
disease: COVID-19 — making sure not to reference Wuhan, the central Chinese
city where the virus originated. COVID-19 stands for Corona Virus Disease 19.
As of today’s reports, the global number of
confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 100 000. The World Health
Organization (WHO) reminds all countries and communities that the spread of
this virus can be significantly slowed or even reversed through the
implementation of robust containment and control activities.
President Rodrigo Duterte
has issued a proclamation formally declaring a state of public health emergency
throughout the Philippines after the health department reported the first known
local transmission of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Duterte signed Proclamation 922 on March 8 to “capacitate
government agencies and LGUs (local government units) to immediately act to
prevent loss of life, utilize appropriate resources to implement urgent and
critical measures to contain or prevent the spread of Covid-19, mitigate its
effects and impact to the community, and prevent serious disruption of the
functioning of the government and the community.”
The proclamation would also facilitate the implementation of
mandatory reporting, intensify government response and measures, and enforce
quarantine and disease control prevention measures.
Sarangani Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon
personally facilitates the ongoing planning-workshop on COVID-19 with officials
of the Provincial Health Office, municipal health offices, hospital staff, and
department heads of the provincial government. Solon pointed out that in crisis
communication we need to "speak the truth to the public without alarming
them." He asked the participants to help him plan and craft mitigation
protocols in order to address the spread of the disease and prevent its entry
in the region. "You let me know if I am right because we have to do
this" together."
What then COVID-19 teaches to the humanity?
I.
Life Is Temporary: Death Is Certain
Life is from God, “And
God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth.”
Life is a blessing
from God yet death was brought by sin when Eve and Adan had been deceived by
the Serpent. (Gen. 3)
Since then viruses
that causes diseases and illnesses have impacted the human lives; the worst is
the virus of jealousy, envy, strife and other sins that destroyed every souls.
Death is now certain
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”
Heb. 9:27
II.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
World leaders down
to the grassroots level have work hard to make preventive measures to prevent
the spread of COVID-19.
Prevention is always
better than cure. When one prevent the entry of illegal drugs, alcohol and
nicotine to his body, it is always better than to rehab him for by it there
would be no amount of time and financial resources to spend.
To prevent the sin
of murder is to prevent the sin of jealousy, envy and strife; one just to
foster the fruit of the Spirit : love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Gal. 5:22)
III.
Washing of Body is Significant: So also the washing of the soul
In Luke 11, the Pharisee confront Jesus for not
hand washing prior to eating but Jesus rebuke them for washing only the outside
not also the inside parts of their lives. While we need to wash our hands
before eating as preventive measure for illness, diseases and other viruses;
the most important thing is our clean hearts. "And do not fear those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt. 10:28.
Long time ago, Apostle
Peter guided by the Holy Spirit once said that in the days of Noah, there were
eight who were saved by water. He then liken the water
immersion as washing of one's sins. Folks, now tell me that
water is not important for salvation. 1 Pet. 3:20-21 "20
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight
souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure
whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ:
IV.
The Necessity of Obedience
What if the government leaders around the world
would not take heed to word of the World Health Organizations.
What if the our local leaders would not obey
the President Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation that formally
declaring a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines after
the health department reported the first known local transmission of the new
coronavirus disease (Covid-19)?
What if Sarangans won’t take heed to the Sarangani
Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon with
officials of the Provincial Health Office, municipal health offices, hospital
staff, and department heads of the provincial government?
The certain answer would be there be thousands
of people be affected of the COVID-19.
The government has legal and moral authority to
enforce obegience to its citizens the prevention of COVID-19 “Public health measures to
achieve these goals may include quarantine, which involves the restriction of
movement or separation of healthy individuals who may have been exposed to the
virus, from the rest of the population, with the objective of monitoring symptoms
and the early detection of cases. Many countries have legal authority to impose
quarantine. When doing so, quarantine should be implemented as part of a
comprehensive package of public health response and containment measures and,
as per Article 3 of the International Health Regulations (2005), be fully
respectful of the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons.
The necessity of obedience to the right authority
is manifested in this situation just like at the time of Naaman.
Naaman was first instructed to ““Go,
wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you
will be cleansed.”
But in verse 11 we read 11 But
Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me
and stand and call on the name of the Lord his
God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better
than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?”
So he turned and went off in a rage.
Naaman
had no other choice to be cleaned but to obey the instruction of Elisha. Thus
he “went
down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of
God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” (2
Kings 5:14)
Why not obey the word of the Lord Jesus to be
saved by the virus of sins? “He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”
Mark. 16:16
References:
World Health Organization, Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus
that causes it
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on March 12, 2020
MANSOOR, sanya, What's in
a Name? Why WHO's Formal Name for the New Coronavirus Disease Matters
Retrieved
from https://time.com/5782284/who-name-coronavirus-covid-19/
Retrived
on March 12, 2020
World Health Organization WHO statement on cases of COVID-19 surpassing 100 000
Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/07-03-2020-who-statement-on-cases-of-covid-19-surpassing-100-000
Retrived
on March 12, 2020
Azer Parrocha, State of public health emergency declared in PH,
Philippine News Agency
Retrieved
from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1095955
Retrieved
on March 12, 2020
PIA SarGen (Sarangani-General Santos City),
Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/PIA12SarGen/photos/rpp.245285265519555/2735076179873772/?type=3&theater
Retrieved on March 12, 2020
World Health Organization “Considerations for quarantine of
individuals in the context of containment for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) 29
February 2020
Photo from COVID-19 cases in the
Philippines rise to 10 https://ph.news.yahoo.com/covid-19-cases-philippines-rise-010120108.html
