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APRIL 3-9, 2020 Volume 13 - No. 22 • 16 Pages 133-30 32nd Ave., Flushing, NY 11354 • 2500 Plaza S. Harborside Financial Center, Jersey City, NJ 07311 • Tel. (212) 655-5426 • Fax: (818) 502-0858

Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, LAS VEGAS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

WHO cautions Philippine gov’t against lifting Luzon quarantine

by JOVIC

YEE Inquirer.net

MANILA — The World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned Philippine authorities on Tuesday, March 31 to consider the “epidemiological situation” should it decide to lift the Luzon lockdown as scheduled on Easter Sunday, especially that it does not see the coronavirus threat to go away in at least a month.

WHO Western Pacific rePRAYERS. The closed gates of Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church) did gional director Takeshi Kasai not deter these two men on motorcycles from offering prayers outside the church on REINFORCED. Philippine General Hospital thanked St. Luke’s Medical Center on Tuesday, March 31, for donating beds, infusion Sunday, March 29. Physical distancing is part of the measures imposed in the Luzon- said that just as the government pumps and P10 million pesos pledged in assistance for supplies. The government hospital said it will no longer accept persons made careful considerations wide enhanced community quarantine in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus. under investigation (PUIs) and patients with mild symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to give priority to positive

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PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Fil-Am journalists remember CBS’ Maria Mercader as a mentor, champion of newsroom diversity

Filipina American Maria Mercader worked for over 30 years at CBS News as a journalist and talent executive.

FILIPINO American media professionals are paying tribute to veteran CBS News journalist and talent executive Maria Mercader who died over the weekend from the coronavirus.

Born and raised in New York, Mercader, 54, spent over

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cases and to avoid “overburdening” the facility.

Inquirer.net photo by Grig Montegrande

DFA: 401 Filipinos abroad infected with COVID-19 Filipino ICU nurse in New York self-isolates by living in a minivan tracted the disease are from 32 countries and regions covering Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East/Africa, and the Americas.

There are 206 cases of Filipinos with COTHE Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, April 1, announced that there are VID-19 in the Asia Pacific Region, 52 cases in a total of 401 confirmed cases of the novel the Middle East/Africa, 107 cases in Europe, coronavirus (COVID-19) among overseas Fili- and 36 cases in America.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the Departpino workers.

Of the number, 270 are currently undergo- ment of Health announced there are 227 ing treatment, 118 have recovered while 13 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s official tally to 2,311. have died.

According to the agency, the OFWs who conu PAGE 7

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

Jersey City’s positive coronavirus cases climb to 820, highest in the state

by MOMAR

G. VISAYA

AJPress

JERSEY City, the city with the most diverse population in New Jersey has more positive coronavirus cases than any other town or city in the state.

The city now has 820 confirmed COVID19 cases and six fatalities, including a DPW worker who was a part-time hospital security guard according to Mayor Steven Fulop.

In a series of tweets, Fulop confirmed that indeed, the city has more positive coronavirus cases than 24 states, including

Washington, D.C. “That’s right. Unfortunately Washington fails us as the relief package does very little to help places that need it,” Fulop said.

“Example: If the overwhelming majority of the cases are in NY/NJ for the USA wouldn’t logically the overwhelming majority of the relief package go to NY/NJ as well?”

There are more than 16,000 Filipinos in Jersey City, which has a population of 265,000. New Jersey’s total number of cases is now 22,255 and 355 deaths as of April 1, the second highest figure in the United

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by HAROLD

CLAVITE Contributor

AT the end of a long work shift, Filipino nurse Jiggz Tabuclin would make it home in time to put his daughter to bed.

But amid the coronavirus outbreak, this is no longer the case. Tabuclin instead parks his miniFilipino nurse, Jiggz Tabuclin, works van outside of the as an ICU nurse in Queens, New York house, then prepares and uses a face shield he bought from a makeshift bed out of Home Depot due to scarcity of PPE. a sleeping bag and a Photo courtesy ofJiggz Tabuclin comforter.

The nurse, who works in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Queens, New York, is one of the hundreds of health care workers left with no choice but to work extra hours, self-isolate and not be able to see their families as the pandemic worsens.

The decision to isolate from his own family came when COVID-19 cases started to grow exponen-

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April 3-9, 2020 • NEW YOrK AND NEW JErSEY ASiAN JOUrNAl

Filipino ICU nurse in New York...

PAGE 1 tially in New York, where 1,550 people have already died by the end of March.

While Tabuclin would prefer to come home to his wife, a public school teacher, and their young daughter who has disability, he cannot take the risk of bringing the virus and infecting his own family.

“I am tired. But more than that, I’m always anxious while at work. At the end of each day, you wonder if you’re infected or not,” he said.

Only a few weeks ago, he was counting the days and looking forward to much-needed breaks and vacation time.

Personal days off are no longer allowed and holidays are postponed indefinitely. Mandatory extra hours have become the new norm at work.

In Tabuclin’s unit, one nurse reportedly handles three COVID-19 cases in addition to regular patients. But this number could change anytime soon as patients pour in each day. Nurses are burdened with juggling between infectious disease patients and others who require immediate and thorough medical attention.

Tabuclin spends rest hours at his minivan after hospital shifts while self-isolating himself from his family.

Photo courtesy ofJiggz Tabuclin

At the current rate, makeshift isolation units have been prepared. Within the ICU, the hospital crew has set up temporary barriers to isolate non-COVID-19 patients from positive ones. Tabuclin notes that it is not totally safe but somehow helps in the meantime.

Due to the volume of patients needing ventilators and intensive support, he worries that the whole telemetry unit might be converted into an ICU, but not all workers are trained in intensive care.

Personal protective equip-

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From the Front Page ment (PPE) has become scarce, causing health care workers to resort to improvising. Tabuclin and his colleagues had to buy their own gear while seeing others using garbage bags and other plastic materials to cover themselves. At one point, he had to use swimming goggles while handling patients as face shields were running out from stores.

Medical front-liners are at the fore of this warfare and are risking their own lives.

With the increasing number of patients coming in each day, some of the nurses have become sick themselves. So far, one nurse has been diagnosed with the disease in Tabuclin’s unit.

But this is the sacrifice and commitment Tabuclin — who was a food attendant at a Filipino restaurant while he took his nursing degree — made when he became a nurse three years ago.

“My only wish now is for a cure against this disease to come out soon and maybe an assurance from authorities that they know what they’re doing to end this crisis so we can all go back to our families,” said Tabuclin. n

DISINFECTING BARANGAYS. Village workers roam around Barangay Sabang and nearby subdivisions in Dasmariñas, Cavite to sanitize the streets with a disinfectant Monday, March 30. Local government units have been ordered to step up measures to prevent the further spread of new coronavirus disease.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

WHO cautions Philippine gov’t...

PAGE 1 in imposing the lockdown on Luzon two weeks ago, the same should be done if it would proceed with reopening the island.

“Obviously, this measure can’t continue forever. At some point, the government needs to think [about] when to lift this measure. When you do that, we have to make careful considerations of the epidemiological situation and impact of the lockdown,” Kasai told reporters in a virtual press briefing.

Balance and control “We may have to peel one by one and not just immediately lift those public health measures which were bundled with the lockdown to balance and control the disease and to bring back the society back to normal,” he said.

Kasai stressed that for the lockdown to be effective, authorities should continue to find, isolate and treat the positive cases, and trace and place on quarantine their contacts who may have been infected.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that so far the Department of Health (DOH) has yet to make a recommendation to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on the lockdown.

The DOH was still “meeting with experts” for an evaluation of the measure, she added.

On Tuesday, the DOH recorded the country’s single largest daily increase in infections as the agency ramped up testing.

Ten more deaths took the toll to 88, while the tally of infections rose to 2,084, with 538 additional cases, Vergeire said.

Fatality rate ‘quite high’ The WHO said that the Philippines’ coronavirus fatality rate appears to be “quite high” due in part to its testing strategy.

“The Philippines’ testing strategy prioritizes severe cases. People with severe disease are more likely to die than those with mild disease, so the proportion goes up. The high proportion of deaths is essentially because of the way [it] chose to test, influenced by the global shortage of laboratory supplies, reagents,” Matthew Griffith, WHO technical adviser, said.

From a high of 8 percent, the country’s fatality rate is now 4.2 percent, still over the global average of 4 percent.

Vergeire maintained that the increase in the number of new cases was due to the expansion of the country’s testing capacity.

The DOH now has six operational laboratories capable of testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

It remains unclear, however, when the DOH would be able to say it has already seen a trend in COVID-19 cases. At least 49 more hospitals are seeking government approval to function as testing centers.

“Our objective is to lower the number of cases until it reaches zero,” Vergeire said on the 17th day of the monthlong lockdown.

Long-term battle While the WHO understands the public’s concern over the virus, Kasai said that as of now it still could not say how long it may take to control the spread of COVID-19. He noted that there is still “no evidence” to

prove the theory that the virus will go away with the warmer summer climate.

“There are people around the world that are doing their best to fight COVID-19. But it is unlikely that this virus will disappear next week or even next month. This battle is going to be a long-term battle,” Kasai said.

“We want every country to respond according to their local situations and prepare for a large-scale community outbreak. We want them to think of a strategy to bring back, in a balanced way, the societies back to normal as much as possible,” he added.

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration accredited five rapid test kits from Singapore and China but stressed that this should only be used in clinical settings. Vergeire acknowledged that the rapid test kits would help people know in an “indirect way” if they have contracted the virus.

“The PCR (polymerase chain reaction-based) tests remain to be the gold standard,” she said, adding that those who would test positive using the rapid test kits would still need to undergo confirmatory testing.

Vergeire said the DOH had sent to the five subnational laboratories kits that could process 40,700 tests.

As of Monday, 15,337 tests have been done. This total includes 2,388 positive results (counting as well the retests), 11,129 negative tests and 1,820 “equivocal results”—tests that are either positive or negative.

Vergeire said the remaining kits could still process more than 85,000 tests. n

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • ApRIL 3-9, 2020

April 3-9, 2020 • NEW YOrK AND NEW JErSEY ASiAN JOUrNAl

FroM Hollywood to tHe Front lineS

Fil-Am medical professional collects supplies from TV shows for hospitals

Dateline USa

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Jersey City’s positive coronavirus cases...

PAGE 1 States, after New York.

Among the more than 800 residents who have tested positive are two of the city’s nine City Council members.

The city’s first responders have

by Christina M. Oriel also been affected, with over AJPress 200 police officers out sick.

AS hospitals across SouthThe city says it’s now facing ern California run low on supat least a $70 million budget plies for front-liners fighting deficit because of virus-related the coronavirus outbreak, spending and revenue losses. a Filipina American mediFormer Council President cal professional is using her Rolando Lavarro is one of the connections to TV shows for two City Council members who donations to fill those needs. tested positive for COVID-19.

Mel Oliver, a cardiovascular According to NJ.com, Lavarro, perfusionist and emergency checked into Jersey City Medimedical technician in Los Ancal Center on March 21 and geles, has helped secure boxwas discharged the next Mones of masks, gloves and other day. He remains quarantined gear from Hollywood sets Mel Oliver, a cardiovascular perfusionist and emergency medical technician in Los in his home, with his wife and she’s consulted on, including Angeles who consults on TV shows, has collected donations of masks and gloves for daughter isolated in other Contributed photos HBO’s “Big Little Lies” and local hospitals. parts of the house.

NBC’s “This Is Us.” she’s worked with. It led her pecially for the people who are “I am on the mend today In mid-March, Oliver re- to a massive collection at In- on the front lines in the emer- because of the heroic work ceived a call from the prop dependent Studio Services gency room, they shouldn’t of frontline health care workmaster for “This Is Us,” who (ISS), a prop supplier for TV have to worry where their ers — doctors, patient care was collecting equipment and film productions. Her next mask is coming from,” from the studio and asked if contact on “Big Little Lies” Oliver told the Asian Journal. she could recommend a hos- has also stepped up to sew reThough the pandemic is pital that needed them the usable cloth masks. the current issue at hand, Oli- PAGE 1 most.

“All these people are com- ver has been collecting excess Inspired by the efforts of ing together and it’s really and unused medical supplies, 30 years at CBS as a producer ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” to nice to know they’re thinking such as scrubs and gloves, and most recently was a didonate their supplies to local of us. Sometimes as a health from TV productions over the rector of talent strategy.

The Filipina American hospitals, she then reached care worker, you don’t get to years. out to other prop departments think about that stuff and…esThe donations are used for journalist got her start at the medical missions to under- network’s page program in served island communities 1987 and rose the ranks to under Isla Medical Founda- the CBS News foreign and tion, which she helped start national desks, guiding in with two friends after taking the production of the biggest a trip to Siargao, the surfing stories, such as the death of Princess Diana, the 9/11 atcapital of the Philippines.

“I’d go back to Siargao and tacks and Pope Francis’ visit each time, the locals would to the United States. In 2004, tell me about the issues she won a Business Emmy they’re having with the health for a “CBS Sunday Morning” care system,” Oliver said. “I’d segment on computer spam.

She fought cancer and rebeen doing medical missions for other organizations and in lated illnesses for more than my head, I thought: ‘Why not 20 years and had been on do what I do for other coun- medical leave for an unrelattries for my own country?’ ed matter since the last week We wanted to give back to in February, according to the the community that gives so network.

CBS News Asia corresponmuch to us whenever we’re Oliver watches from behind-the-scenes during the filming of NBC’s “This Is Us.” there visiting. I’m thankful dent Ramy Inocencio — who ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ would think was the first American TV of me every time they had ex- journalist assigned to Wuhan, China when the virus first tra stuff.”

The Pinay’s foray into Hol- broke out and has since covlywood started 10 years ago ered its spread to other Asian when she was still working at countries — said Mercader’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center passing is a reminder of the and someone from “Grey’s coronavirus’ personal impact.

“Never would I have Anatomy” reached out to the hospital looking for a perfu- thought I would lose a friend sionist to consult on an epi- half a world away when I first started reporting this. It’s just sode.

“I took it and worked with so important for everyone to them for that one episode,” remember coronavirus can afOliver said. “I thought it was fect us all. And it sadly does,” a once-in-a-lifetime opportu- Inocencio wrote in an email nity and as the years passed, to the Asian Journal.

The CBS News corresponthey’d ask me to come back Through her organization, Isla Medical Foundation, Oliver has received unused for like two episodes a season, dent, who considered Mermedical supplies from ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” over the years and has distributed then it became five episodes. cader a friend for over 12 them in Siargao, Philippines.

Contributed photos PAGE 7 years, remembered how she

technicians, everyone at the hospital and most especially the nurses,” he said. “They are beyond heroic, and yet they are still very much vulnerable humans with families, children and loved ones who they literally can’t touch. God bless them.”

The city opened its own mass-testing sites on Friday, and this was a major factor in the uptick of positive cases, according to Fulop.

“The more testing sites that are popping up are really, really helpful,” he said. “The state should have more of them. It’s a crucial part of combating this virus because you have to have real data around what’s happening.”

He noted that there has been a decrease in the percentage of positive cases. The first day that the sites were opened, 46% of those tested were positive. The number was reduced to 36% on the

second day and 31% on the third day.

The first Jersey City testing site is a drive-thru in the southwest section of the city outside of the former DPW complex, located at 575 NJ-440. The drive-thru allows residents to drive up and show proof of address, before being swabbed and driving away. The second location in the East is walk-up testing site with an expedited process out of the Public Safety Headquarters building located at 465 Marin Boulevard Both sites will follow an appointment-only system with proof of address (a recent phone, electric, or gas bill) upon arrival. Any resident who have been exposed to the virus and are exhibiting symptoms – dry cough, fever, or shortness of breath – is asked to call the Covid Call Center 201-547-5535 to make an appointment. n

Fil-Am journalists remember CBS’ Maria Mercader...

Mercader with Ramy Inocencio, CBS News Asia correspondent

never made herself or her health battles the focus when she was around others.

“Any normal person might have complained but she was strong…so strong. And sitting with her she always made it about ‘you…’ Yes, we talked about affairs of the heart along with career and Filipino food,” Inocencio said. “And she would make time for quality time — to talk about how you could rise, learn and be a better version of yourself.”

Inocencio thanked Mercader for recruiting him to join CBS and in helping land his current role as the network’s Asia correspondent based in Beijing, becoming the first Asian American in that capacity.

“That was her power, her loyal advocacy and her love.

That she’s now left us makes me feel I have to work that

much harder to make her proud from heaven — and I know she’s watching me all the time now and with a good glass of wine in her hand,” he said. “She’ll be missed terribly but the outpouring of love for her around the world I see now is just a beautiful torrential testament to the love she poured into the world when she was with us.”

Her legacy at the network garnered messages from colleagues like Dan Rather and Elaine Quijano as well as segments on “CBS This Morning,” the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” and the “CBS Weekend News.”

Aside from news production, Mercader devoted time to the mentorship and professional development of rising journalists of color and helped coordinate CBS News participation in the Asian PAGE 7

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • APRIL 3-9, 2020

OPINION

FEATURES

Ramping up COVID testing IN a tragic manifestation of how the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is overwhelming the public health system, the assistant director of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Dr. Salvacion Rodriguez-Gatchalian, last Wednesday joined the ranks of frontliners who have fallen in the difficult battle. The RITM is the country’s lone testing center for COVID-19 infection.

Health experts have stressed the importance of rapid, widespread testing to contain the spread of a potentially deadly affliction for which there is still no vaccine or cure.

There was excitement over reports that the city government of Marikina was set to open its own testing center, using the GenAmplify test kits developed by the University of the Philippines-Manila’s National Institutes of Health and Philippine Genome Center, to be mass-produced locally. Both the opening of the testing cenvter and rollout of the local test

5

kit, however, are still waiting for an official green light.

Other countries have fasttracked approval processes for such critical items. While Philippine health officials have valid concerns over the need to ensure the accuracy and safety of the tests, the other side of the argument is that time is of the essence in containing this highly infectious disease.

Gabor Kelen, director of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, which now has the world’s highest number of COVID cases, has argued that easing regulatory hurdles for testing in this emergency outweighs the disadvantages, and governments do not have the luxury of aiming for a perfect testing environment.

With COVID deaths surging in the U.S. and their hospitals overwhelmed, Kelen was quoted in a report as saying: “If we could have hotspots.” Arguing for the speedy rollout of done contact tracing, we might have found more testing kits, he said: “Something is beta lot more cases quickly and shut down the ter than nothing, sooner is better than later,

Editorial

HUWAG MAGING PASAWAY: Prepare for the surge in coronavirus cases in the US in the next three weeks

Demand and Supply

Philstar.com photo

and if one test is good, two are better. So let’s get to it – perfect is the enemy of good.” (Philstar.com)

Our COVID-19 economy

in celebration of Easter, the most important holiday in Christianity. He wants businesses to start churning the BOO CHANCO economy again. But it is not LET us face the reality of his call. The virus will make ficials who have been true and our situation: the pace and that call. faithful to their oaths as public quality of our lives now and We can only react to the servants. They have been on in the foreseeable future will challenge the virus in hurling top of this emergency, col- be dictated by the coronavirus at us each day. The quality of laborating with scientists and disease 2019 or COVID-19. our response will dictate how experts, and health officials in The virus respects no hu- soon we can get back to nornavigating through this laby- man title. The Crown Prince mal. rinth in search of ways to slow of England is infected and the Are we actively testing and down and stop the outbreak, British Prime Minister as well. isolating more cases? Are we find a possible cure and vac- Senators and Congressmen getting more ventilators and cine, provide health and sup- here and in the US are infect- building more overflow patient port to hardworking Ameri- ed. A World War is raging and facilities? When can we expect cans whose life and livelihood we can only see the enemy in a cure and a vaccine? had been disrupted by this a laboratory test.

This is why it is important crisis.

President Trump wants to we have leaders we can trust EXPECT A SURGE in the declare America reopened for and have confidence in their number of coronavirus cases business by Easter. He wants ability to make the right deciPAGE 7 people to pack their Churches sions. I am not sure Health

Experts warn of death toll could go up to 100,000-200,000

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic the world is now fighting against is personal to me.

My husband is a surgeon and is part of the pool of doctors called to assist in the care of coronavirus patients. My sister-in-law in Boston has just tested positive after taking care of her elderly patient who also tested positive.

There are so many more people who have been unselfishly and courageously fight-

ing this war, risking their own health, safety, and even their lives so we may live. They are the front-liners in this war zone, those who cannot stay home because they have a sacred vow and duty to fulfill.

They are the doctors, nurses, other healthcare professionals, first responders, 9-1-1 operators, dispatchers in the Department of Emergency Management. They are the police, firemen, the pharmacy personnel, supermarket and farmers’ market personnel, and volunteers.

They are the government of-

Secretary Duque still deserves our trust.

Duque played politics with China and then the VIP tests.

We had just three cases between Jan. 30 and March 4.

Then the numbers increased.

He wasted 35 days by not preparing more test and other facilities for the upsurge.

It isn’t as if changing him is like changing horses in the middle of a war. The graphs show the war has barely started for us and we must flatten it.

It isn’t as if we are lacking in leadership talent. There is former health secretary Manuel Dayrit who has experience managing our SARS response and also has WHO work exposure. There is Dr Gap Legaspi PAGE 10

The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.

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Dateline PhiliPPines

DOST: UP-developed COVID-19 test 8 dead as medevac plane crashes during takeoff at NAIA kits to be available within the week

by Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

by Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

THE Department of Science and Technology on Monday, March 30, announced that at least 120,000 locally-developed test kits for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be rolled out this week.

According to the agency, its priority is the production of 26,000 test kits for field implementation and distribution to certain hospitals that can do the testing such as the Philippine General Hospital, Makati Medical Center, The Medical City, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Baguio General Hospital.

“From April 4 (Saturday) to 25, there will be a field implementation for the 26,000 testing kits funded under the DOST and the University of the PhilippinesNational Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) Project,” said DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña.

The SARS-CoV-2 PCR De-

tection Kit was developed by scientists from the UP-NIH and the Philippine Genome Center with funding from the DOST. It is being manufactured and stockpiled by Manila HealthTek, Inc. “The remaining 94,000 testing kits will be sold commercially by Manila HealthTek at around P1,300 per kit, which is cheaper than the units currently being used in hospitals which cost about P8,000,” Peña added.

The test kit has already received a Certificate of Exemption from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so it can proceed with field testing.

Meanwhile, the Certificate of Product Registration that will allow the test kit’s commercial sale is expected on Friday, April 3.

“We have informed the FDA that requirements for CPR Certification will be submitted on Wednesday, April 1 at the latest,” Peña said.

The development of the SARS-CoV-2 PCR Detection Kit

was led by Dr. Raul V. Destura, a microbiologist and infectious disease specialist who currently serves as the deputy executive director of the Philippine Genome Center.

His core team of 15 members started developing the test kit in January, after Chinese scientists released the whole genome sequence of the virus to the public.

The test kit is a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR)-based test kit, similar to the World Health Organization test kits donated to the country.

According to the scientists, the development of the SARSCoV-2 PCR Detection Kit is a promise of better accessibility to the public, since it will be made available at a cheaper cost compared to its existing foreigndeveloped counterparts.

“We are one with the government in providing this technology, para sana maging accessible sa lahat (so that it can be accessible to everyone),” Dr. Destura had said. n

A MEDICAl evacuation plane caught on fire during takeoff on Sunday, March 29 at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), killing all the eight people on board.

The incident took place at the end of Runway 24 while the aircraft was taking off at around 8 p.m., according to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

The Philippine-registered lionair Westwind was bound for Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in Japan, carrying eight people: a flight medic, nurse, doctor, three flight crew, and a Canadian patient and the patient’s American companion.

“Immediately after the incident, the MIAA Fire and Rescue team were dispatched to the site to douse the flames with chemical foam,” the airport authority said, confirming that no passengers survived the accident.

Airport authorities did not divulge the reason that

ILL-FATED PLANE. A Lionair aircraft, a Westwind 1124A jet, on medical evacuation mission bound for Haneda, Japan burst into flames before taking off Sunday evening, March 29 along runway 24 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at about 7:57 p.m. According to the Manila International Airport Authority, all eight people onboard perished in the accident.

Photo courtesy NAIA Media Affairs

prompted the medical evacuation.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) revealed that the aircraft encountered a technical problem while rolling out for takeoff.

“The medical evacuation flight, bound for Tokyo/ Haneda in Japan reportedly encountered a technical prob-

lem while rolling for takeoff on Runway 06,” the CAAP said in its initial report.

CAAP Deputy Director General Don Mendoza noted that the aircraft was airworthy and the pilots’ licenses were valid.

He also said that the CAAP is considering barring lionPAGE 7

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HUWAG MAGING PASAWAY: Prepare for the...

PAGE 5 in the United States in the next three weeks, experts warn, urgently calling on government officials to prepare for the apex of the pandemic.

As of press time on Tuesday, March 31, the United States reported more than 770 deaths, the most in one day. This has been the trend that started this week — the exponential growth in the number of people infected by the virus, and those who did not make it.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 183,588 cases have been documented, and 3,780+ have died in the U.S. Globally, there have been 850,500+ cases of people suffering from coronavirus, while 41,600+ have perished.

Dr. Anthoiny Fauci, the leading expert in infectious diseases and member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, warned on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “based on modeling of the current pace of the coronavirus’ spread in the U.S., ‘between 100,000 and 200,000’ people may die from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.”

This estimate of 100,000to-200,000 death figure is a middle-of-the-road estimate, Dr. Fauci said, much lower than the worst-case scenario predictions.

As NPR reported, public health experts explain that “because of undocumented chains of transmission in many parts of the country, the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. is set to keep surging as more and more test results become known.”

However, Dr. Fauci emphasized that the prediction is “such a moving target that you could so easily be wrong and mislead people.”

The movement would then be contingent on how urgently the country moves — both the government and the people” to help “flatten the curve.”

The chart above — shared

by Drew Harris, a population health analyst at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia on Twitter — was based on another chart in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) paper.

As Health.com explains: The “flattening the curve” chart illustrates the wave of new coronavirus cases expected to hit.

A high curve means the virus is spreading quickly; some people won’t get the medical care they need, and the number of deaths is likely to increase. A low curve means coronavirus is spreading slowly, which gives doctors the time and resources to treat more people (and hopefully save more lives).

As Health.com reported, Harris drew a dotted line onto the chart, showing that the smoothness of the curve could be the difference between treating the disease and health care providers struggling to cope with the demand for help. It summarizes the importance of taking measures to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“The ideal goal in fighting an epidemic or pandemic is to completely halt the spread. But merely slowing it—mitigation—is critical,” Harris was quoted by The New York Times.

This is so consequential and critical to the survival of people already infected

from Makati City, and a 65year-old Filipino female from Quezon City.

One patient, on the other hand, recovered, bringing the official count of recoveries to 50.

Esperanza Cabral, former DOH chief, pointed out that the country can still expect an increase in positive cases in the next two weeks.

“I don’t think we are peaking next week or even the week after. I don’t think we have controlled the coronavirus yet,” she told CNN Philippines’ The

Fil-Am medical professional collects supplies...

PAGE 4

So basically, whenever they had a cardiac surgery scene, they’d have me come in and consult with them for the perfusion part.”

Working with the medical drama rippled into referrals for other shows; the most recent ones include FOX’s “9-11” and Amazon’s “Goliath.”

She’s also been a medical by the virus. ”If the corotechnical advisor since the navirus is passed on too quickly and too many peo- first season of “This Is Us,” a ple become infected at one drama following the Pearson time, the resources avail- family through the decades able to fight it could quickly starring Milo Ventimiglia, become overwhelmed. By Mandy Moore and Sterling staggering the number of Brown. She goes on set durCOVID-19 cases over a lon- ing the days of filming medical ger period of time, every- scenes, whether it’s a death or one who becomes infected birth, and helps review scripts can have better access to care”, Health.com explained.

IGNORE the lies and mis- PAGE 4 information being forced American Journalists Associafeed to us by President Don- tion, the National Lesbian and ald Trump by his irrespon- Gay Journalists Association sible use of the bully pulpit and the National Association to raise his personal ratings of Black Journalists. and feed his delusional inShe was a 2004 graduate of satiable desire to hold on AAJA’s Executive Leadership to power, at the expense of Program in Chicago. Many the safety and lives of the Fil-Am journalists crossed American people. paths with Mercader at the As the New York organization’s events and anTimes reported, Trump’s nual convention and became very proven characteristics her friends and mentees. have made him unfit to lead Multimedia journalist Chris the country especially in a Casquejo did not work directly global emergency of this with Mercader but has known magnitude: her since 2004 through AAJA • profound need for per- and other professional gathsonal praise erings.

• propensity to blame “Maria was a fierce champiothers on for diversity in newsrooms • lack of human empathy and very proud of her Filipino • penchant for rewriting roots. I’m convinced that’s a history big reason we connected on • disregard for expertise many levels: We were both • distortion of facts Fil-Ams navigating our way • impatience with scru- through a demanding industiny try,” Casquejo wrote in an REMEMBER: We would email to the Asian Journal. have not been in this desHe spoke of her “brutally perate situation had Trump honest yet encouraging” way not eliminated the White of critiquing resume tapes for PAGE 10 budding broadcast reporters, how she made others “the most important person in the room,” and that she reminded journalists not only to excel in Source. their careers but also to have Cabral also said that the a work-life balance. government would still need But Casquejo’s favorite to secure tens of thousands memory of Mercader was more tests before officials can outside of reporting. analyze the severity of the virus “Each time we saw each in local communities.

“We will have to do more tests. If we have done 10 or 20,000 of them, we can more or less determine what is the PAGE 6 prevalence of the coronavirus air’s fleet from taking off since in our community. And per- this is the second fatal incihaps we can say that at that dent involving the company in time, (if) we have controlled nearly seven months. or not controlled the coronaviLast September 2019, a rus,” she added. n Lionair plane crashed in La-

DFA: 401 Filipinos abroad infected with...

PAGE 1 The department also recorded eight new deaths – all of who were senior citizens.

This brings the country’s death toll to 96.

The fatalities include an 80year-old Filipino male from San Juan City, a 70-year-old Filipino male from Cebu City, an 84-year-old Filipino male from Mandaluyong City, a 77-yearold Filipino male from Manila, a 66-year-old Filipino male from Parañaque City, a 73-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City, a 79-year-old Filipino female

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • ApRIL 3-9, 2020

if needed. She also stepped in front of the camera as a nurse in one episode.

“I moved to LA definitely not trying to get into the entertainment industry, but I’m lucky that I did because it’s super fun,” said Oliver, who’s originally from Ohio. “It’s a different challenge from cardiac surgery.”

The Hollywood projects led to starting her own company, Reel Medical Consulting, which also rents out medical equipment and provides real health care professionals for on-camera scenes.

The profits from the various gigs are then donated to medical charities, such as Mending Kids, CardioStart,

Surfer’s Medical Association, and her own foundation.

In the past week alone, Oliver helped organize and distribute car trunks full of resources to hospitals in the LA area and is continuing to seek more donations.

She also called on those in the community with sewing skills to help make masks or spearhead their own collection drives.

“Even if it’s just one or two masks, that’s one or two masks for someone. At my hospital right now, I’m allowed to wear one mask a day. If someone donates two masks, that’s two days worth for me and that goes a long way,” Oliver said. n

Fil-Am journalists remember CBS’ Maria Mercader... other, she would point to her right cheek before even saying hello. I wasn’t allowed to talk until I did two things: kiss her on the cheek and answer this question, ‘Are you dating anyone?’ When I would inevitably answer ‘no,’ I could see her matchmaking mind start to work. Only after she grilled me about dating could we catch up about what was happening in our lives. But I didn’t mind. She just wanted me to be happy in my career and personal life. She was truly like a Filipina Ate to me,” Casquejo added.

Will Chang, a former online editor and recruiter for the Associated Press, recalled how Mercader became a familiar face at job fairs and how she would try to find a way to bond with anyone she met.

“Even I wasn’t exempt from her playfulness. When we got to know each other, we both bonded over being ‘secret Filipinos.’ Most people would look at our last names and would assume we were something else, so we both got a kick out of surprising new people with being Pinoy. She never met my wife, so she would tease me and say that she didn’t think I was married,” Chang wrote in an email to the Asian Journal. “But I also remember her kindness. She made time for me when I was going

Multimedia journalist Chris Casquejo (left) with Mercader and sports anchor CBS Sports’ Tommy Tran (right) at the AAJA convention in 2018.

through some rough patches and always [lent] an ear when asked. That is the Maria I remember. I just wish I got to know her better.”

The AAJA asked individuals to donate to the American Ballet Theatre and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to honor Mercader’s legacy as a patron of the arts.

Mercader’s mother Gladys, who predeceased her, was the pianist for the American Ballet Theatre. She is survived by her father, Manuel, who worked in finance, and brother, Manuel, an attorney in New York. (Christina M. Oriel/AJPress)

8 dead as medevac plane crashes during ... guna, killing nine people aboard.

“Right now the initial step we’re looking into is grounding the whole fleet,” Mendoza said.

“It’s quite alarming but

we’re looking into the records deeply... Definitely we will have a thorough investigation into this and then we will advise the operators (about) the actions and steps that will be taken,” he added. n

April 3-9, 2020 • NEW YOrK AND NEW JErSEY ASiAN JOUrNAl

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10 April 3-9, 2020 • NEW YOrK AND NEW JErSEY ASiAN JOUrNAl

Dateline PhiliPPines

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Philippines gets nearly $4-M health assistance from US

by Patricia Lourdes Philstar.com

WHERE IS PHYSICAL DISTANCING? People have to endure the summer heat before they could enter a supermarket at Barangay Sto. Niño, MIA Road in Parañaque City on Sunday, March 29. The long queue to get inside supermarkets are a common sight these days as physical distancing is highly encouraged to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

PAGE 5

Our COVID-19 economy

of UP-PGH, who keeps on impressing us with his ability to get things done despite lack of resources.

This is still primarily a health and not a military crisis. We need a credible medical professional in top level decision making. That’s not Duque.

As we approach a month of total isolation for many countries, the question is often asked: Will our economies survive the virus? Will people revolt over the draconian measures before the virus kills them?

It is bad for poor countries like ours. We have so many people living in extreme poverty even in the best of times.

Now we must add those living hand-to-mouth who lost their daily wages.

It is easy to demand that government provide our poor with enough money to cover basic needs for as long as the medical emergency exists. Our national treasury can probably afford such subsidy for a month or two. But what happens if the virus lingers for a year or more?

The emergency power law recently passed by Congress provides for an emergency subsidy of P5,000 to P8,000 to 18 million low income households all over the country. The President has the power to realign whatever money there is in all government agencies, including GOCCs. But the big question is, how will the poor get hold of those funds? We don’t have a system to flow the money down without a large part of it being lost in the hands of corrupt officials.

Things will get worse be-

fore it gets better. According to NEDA, without mitigating measures, they see a reduction in our real GDP growth to -0.6 to 4.3 percent this year.

NEDA also warns that “if the ECQ is extended beyond one month, or if the spread of COVID-19 is unabated even after the ECQ, then even the low-end of the estimate is still too high.”

That’s why some economists, like Toti Chikiamco, are saying a prolonged lockdown will cause not only an economic crisis, but also a social crisis, with food riots and other socially disruptive events.

Because the Philippines has a young population with a median age of 23 versus Italy with a median age of 46, Toti thinks it should be possible to risk easing the lockdown by April 14.

By easing, that means allowing mass transport to operate and businesses to reopen, provided, regular disinfection is mandated for all mass transport, and social distancing where possible.

Toti wants to adopt a riskbased approach to confront the epidemic – omnipresent temperature checking before entering workplaces, mandate wearing of masks for everybody, continuous public education on hand washing, social distancing; “Continue the bans on mass gatherings of more than five people; continue the quarantine of seniors who are the most vulnerable to the virus; build surge capacity of temporary hospitals and quarantine hotels for PUIs or Persons Under Investigation. It’s important for suspect cases to be removed from their families as

they can spread the infection to their families as what happened in Wuhan; “Continue the ban on foreign visitors, or put all visitors under a 14-day quarantine. Let herd immunity build among our young population.

Eventually, too, we have to do mass testing. Therefore, we have to reserve resources to buy cheap testing kits that are presently being developed by biotech companies.

“In other words, the Philippines can’t afford the 60, 90 or-120-day lockdowns being contemplated in the West.

The cure may be worse than the disease…

“Flattening the curve is really about matching our health capacity to the exponential increase in cases, and therefore, hopefully, more people will be saved. How many lives will be saved, versus how many lives also lost due to hunger and unemployment?”

There is also a proposal to devalue the peso to P55 to $1 as an economic relief and stimulus package: it will put money in the pockets of OFWs, boost exports and BPOs, and protect import-substituting local industries. China is reported to have quietly done that for the yuan.

“With oil prices at historic lows and demand down, the inflationary aspect is muted.”

So many things to do. So little time. Not enough data to act upon. And we have to fight this virus intelligently. Mistakes are too costly in terms of negative impact on lives as well as on the economy. *** Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco

Viray

THE Philippine government received nearly $4 million or approximately P200 million in health assistance from the U.S. in response to the COVID19 pandemic.

A report released by the U.S. Department of State stated that Washington has released approximately $18.3 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to ASEAN member states as of March 26.

“Nearly $4 million in health assistance will help the Philippines government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, risk communication, infection prevention and control, and more,” the report read.

Among its ASEAN neighbors, the Philippines acquired the largest amount of financial

assistance from the U.S. in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

It also indicated that the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Reduction Agency also provided locally-sourced personal protective equipment (PPEs), training, exercises and laboratory equipment and materials to the Philippines.

According to the report, the Philippines has received more than $582 million in health assistance and nearly $4.5 billion in total assistance from the U.S. in the past 20 years.

The U.S. also provided financial assistance to Cambodia ($2 million), Indonesia ($2.3 million), Laos (nearly $2 million), Myanmar ($3.8 million), Thailand ($1.2 million) and Vietnam (nearly $3 million).

The U.S. has yet to provide the request of Brunei and Malaysia for respirators and

PPEs after U.S. domestic demands are met.

“Our country continues to be the single largest health and humanitarian donor for both long-term development and capacity building efforts with partners, and emergency response efforts in the face of recurrent crises,” the U.S. Department of State said.

A total of 40,057 deaths have been recorded across the world, including 29,305 in Europe, with Italy registering 12,428, followed by Spain with 8,189 and China with 3,305.

Since the virus emerged in China in December, 803,645 global infections have been confirmed, more than half of them in Europe, which has 440,928.; The United States and Canada has 172,071 cases and 3,243 deaths and Asia has 108,421 cases with 3,882 deaths. (With reports from Agence France-Presse)

HUWAG MAGING PASAWAY: Prepare for the...

PAGE 7 House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, established by former President Barack Obama, to prepare the United States for future pandemics like COVID-19. This is consistent with Trump’s obsession to erase Obama’s legacy in America.

We wouldn’t have been in this desperate situation had Trump not cut back on the funding for health institutions like the CDC. The CDC’s rationale: It works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, the CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.

The CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, it saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish our mission, it conducts critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these

arise.

WE WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN BEHIND in the war against the coronavirus had Trump heeded the classified warning of U.S. intelligence agencies in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus. Instead, President Trump and his minions in the Republican Party and Fox News downplayed the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of the pathogen, according to U.S. officials familiar with spy agency reporting, as reported by the Washington Post.

All these because Trump did not want the growing “numbers” of the pandemic cases in the United States to affect his own “numbers” in economic terms he wants to brag about for his re-election bid.

We would not have been behind had Trump and his team followed the National Security Council’s pandemic playbook. The 69page document, finished in 2016, provided a step by step list of priorities. The Trump administration was briefed on the playbook’s existence in 2017, which was then ignored by the administration.

We would not have been

behind if instead of self-aggrandizing and self-promoting in his daily briefings, instead of fighting with governors and mayors and demanding “appreciation” from them, Trump should seriously and pragmatically listen to their inputs based on facts on the ground and carry out their suggestions to meet their needs and taking care of their states and citizens-- more testing kits, protective gears for the front liners, ventilators, hospital beds, etc.

LISTEN instead to your governors and city mayors and COMPLY with their orders to exercise social distancing, work from home, shelter in place and stay at home OR face punishments like imprisonment and fines pursuant to the rule of law, just to protect us all.

HUWAG MAGING PASAWAY! GOD BLESS US ALL. ***

Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABSCBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community.

You may contact her through email at gelrelos@icloud.com, or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook. com/Gel.Santos.Relos.

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COMMUNITY Journal

11

COVID-19 immigration update as of March 30, 2020 Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ WITH the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with “stay-at-home,” “shelter in place,” quarantines, travel bans, etc., there has been a profound effect on immigration. Here are some of the latest restrictions, limitations, and changes as of March 30, 2020. This is not an exhaustive list, and is subject to change literally on a daily basis: 1. For those who have filed work authorization extension requests (Form I-765), which ordinarily require fingerprint-

ing, USCIS will reuse your existing fingerprints on file, rather than having you go to an Application Support Center (ACS) to be re-fingerprinted.

2. For those of you who have a response due by a particular date, USCIS has provided for a 60-day extension from the due date for any response to a Request for Evidence (RFE), Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID), Notice of Intent to Revoke NOIR), Notice of Intent to Terminate (NOIT), or to file an appeal from a decision to the AAO, in connection with any decision/denial issued between March 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020. a. For example, if a NOID is issued April 1, 2020, with a response date of May 1, 2020, the person would have an additional 60 days beyond May

1, 2020 to respond.

3. Unfortunately, USCIS continues to serve denials and requests for additional evidence while people are subject to the shelter in place quarantines. It is “business as usual” for USCIS, even as the officers continue to work from home. I believe it is unfair, as we don’t know if the shelter in place or pandemic will be resolved within those 60 days. Moreover, it is difficult for people to be able to gather the appropriate information and documents for responses, such as declarations, leases, bank records, birth certificates from overseas, or other documentation necessary for a response or appeal. People may risk a denial for not providing sufficient documentaPAGE 12

Fil-Am director Dean Devlin’s ‘Almost Paradise’ is the first-ever American TV series shot in the Philippines

By AJPress

The first-ever American TV series filmed entirely in the Philippines made its debut on Monday, March 30 on WGN America.

“Almost Paradise” is an action-thriller show created, written and produced by award-winning Filipino American filmmaker Dean Devlin.

Known for his work on “Independence Day,” “Godzilla, “Leverage,” and “The Librarians,” this is Devlin’s first project involving his Filipino roots.

The series is centered around Alex Walker (Christian Kane, “The Librarians” and “Angel”), a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent who goes into early retirement and moves to a beach in the Philippines he remembers visiting years ago.

Alex finds himself drawn into cases where he uses his skills as a longtime operative to put away the bad guys that cross his path.

Filipino American producer and filmmaker, Dean Devlin (“Independence Day,” “Godzilla”). Photos courtesy of Electric Entertainment

The idea came to Devlin during his honeymoon in Hawaii some 14 years ago when the local news had a story about residents capturing a drug dealer on their own.

“It just got me thinking about island justice, island culture and island spirituality.

I always said, ‘I really would like to write something about that,’” Devlin told the Asian Journal. “Over the years, I thought, ‘Why do it in Hawaii?’ I’m half Filipino and I’ve never done anything con-

nected to my own culture so when the idea came to put this story in the Philippines then things started to accelerate quite quickly.”

Beyond the “poverty porn” and other stereotypical notions people may have about the Philippines, Devlin didn’t want to make the storyline about the current political climate and the controversial drug war.

“To be able to bring things from the culture — the looks, the costumes, the traditions — and put that seamlessly in a very American show…one of the goals here is not to say that Filipinos are the other.

The goal is to say Filipinos are us and we’re all part of the same beautiful community,” he said.

As for the challenges that came with filming in the country, Devlin joked, saying “The better question is what wasn’t the challenge?” His production company, Electric Entertainment, partnered with ABSCBN and built a soundstage at PAGE 12

THREE DIVINE SIGNS GUIDED FAMILY TO HUMANITARIAN REVALIDATION APPROVAL. Nanay Beatriz petitioned her sons Romeo (left) and Mario (not in photo) back in 1994, and when she became a U.S. citizen, the category was updated from single child to married (F-3). However, Nanay Beatriz was diagnosed with late stage cancer, and her final wish was that her daughter, Juliet (3rd from left), make sure that her brothers make it to the U.S. by retaining leading U.S. immigration attorney MICHAEL J. GURFINKEL (right). The devout Juliet prayed for three signs to know how she should proceed, since after her mother died, the petition for her brothers “died” with her. And the signs came while Juliet was watching an episode of Citizen Pinoy. Find out what these three signs were, and see how the power of prayer and a dedicated team at the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel were able to make Nanay Beatriz’ final wish come true on an all-new episode of CITIZEN PINOY – on Sunday at 6:15 pm (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

12

april 3-9, 2020 • NEW YOrK aND NEW JErSEY aSiaN JOUrNal

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette aDeva Maglaya This coronavirus crisis seems to come out of nowhere but it didn’t. Like any story, it has a beginning, a peak and an end. And hopefully, there are no sequels to this grim story.

It seems the animal to human transmission of the hyped-up yet truly deadly virus may have happened to Patient Zero in November of 2019 in Wuhan in the Hubei province of China. Ground zero of the virus is a level 4 bio-weapons laboratory in the Wuhan University of Technology not far from a wet market where exotic and domesticated live animals were sold as human food fare. How exotic? Consider bats, snakes, rabbits, etcetera.

Yes, you name it, they probably sell it.

Initial reports indicate that a bio-chemistry chairman of Harvard University named Dr. Charles Lieber was arrested by federal agents towards the end of January 2020. His expertise was nanoscience. In December, there were 2 Chinese student assistants also arrested by federal agents. It is claimed

Cathartic pause during How three divine signs helped make coronavirus isolation a mother’s final wish come true on a “THIS CRISIS however, like everything else in the course of human history, SHALL COME TO PASS.” Lieber was instrumental in setting up the Wuhan laboratory from the period 2011 to 2017. His secret involvement was unreported to Harvard or to the US government. He lied when confronted. He was paid $50,000 per month and hefty living expenses to share his expertise on nanoscience and biochemistry to China. He was part of China’s aggressive drive to recruit talents from around the world to advance their science and technology to further build their war machinery by stealing them from everywhere else.

Yet the alarm bells weren’t sounded until the middle of January of 2020. By then, the virus from Patient Zero had spread to many parts of the world by infected carriers who travelled to other countries, particularly Milan in Italy where over 100,000 Chinese

workers lived and worked in the factories and spread the contagion after the Chinese New Year celebration but not before causing thousands of death in Wuhan itself. The official numbers being touted by China regarding number of infections and deaths should be taken with a smidgen, nope, make that a mountain of hmmmmm.

Fortunately for the US, travel from China was halted by President Trump by the end of January 2020 and then from Europe and the UK weeks later, bold moves that may have saved millions of coronavirus infections and death. Time will tell.

For the time being, let the powers that be sort this out.

The waters are muddy and a clearer picture will come out in due time.

PAGE 13

Know thy enemy: SARS-CoV2 Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS IN any war, it is best to know one’s enemy well to have a better chance of survival. We must know all we can about our invisible adversary, SARSCoV2 virus, the cause of the current COVID-19 pandemic, in order to defeat this virus. As of 7 a.m., Wednesday, April 1, it had infected almost a million and killed more than 50,000 worldwide in 203 countries, including 188,881 cases in the USA with 4,066 deaths, 81,554 in China, with 3,312 deaths, and 2,311 in the Philippines, with 96 deaths. The numbers and fatalities are still going up.

It is suggested that 30 percent or more of the world population could be infected before this pandemic ends. WHO estimates the average mortality death to be 3.4%, and 15% for those admitted to the hospital.

Viruses are not alive What is a virus? Contrary

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to conventional knowledge, viruses are not living microorganisms like bacteria, so the virus is not “alive.” It is actually a protein molecule (DNA) covered by a protective layer of lipid (fat), which when absorbed by the cells of our ocular (eyes), nasal (nose) or buccal (mouth) mucosal lining, “instantly changes its genetic code (mutate) and rapidly converts itself into an aggressor and multiplier cell,” then replicates superfast in a host (in animals, in the case of COVID-19, like bats, which was transmitted to humans in Wuhan, Hubei, China) and massively attack and damage the main target: the lungs (resulting in pneumonia, which is the final killer).

The virus is unable to “survive” on its own, without a host. It is totally dependent, a parasite, which decays on its own outside of a living host.

On surfaces, this protein molecule will lose its potential activeness (destroyed) within a period of time (see list below), depending on the material of the surface.

We can destroy and inactivate the molecule by damaging/altering its DNA thru hand-

washing with foamy soap and water (preferably warm, since it hates temperature beyond 23˚C or 73˚F) for at least 20 seconds, and drying our hands well since it loves moisture. It is also destroyed by disinfectants: at least 70% alcohol; diluted chlorine bleach (5 tbsp per gallon water); likely by UVC light, which damages its DNA to disable replication; by anti-SARS-CoV2 medications (the old anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, with Azithromycin for the pneumonia), a combo still being clinically tried; and prevented with a vaccine, now being developed.

The foam that forms when we wash our hands with soap and warm water (heat melts fats) cuts, destroys, and dissolves the protective fats around this very fragile virus, breaking and dispersing the protein molecule on its own, inactivated. The same good effect happens when we wash our face or take a shower.

SARS-CoV2 virus on surfaces Recent studies have suggested that the SARS-CoV2 virus remains active on various PAGE 13

brand new episode of Citizen Pinoy

IT was their mother’s dying wish: “Hire Atty. Gurfinkel so I can rest in peace.”

Nanay Beatriz petitioned her sons Romeo and Mario back in 1994, and when she became a U.S. citizen and her sons married, the category was updated to F-3. Unfortunately, while waiting for the petition to become current, Nanay Beth developed cancer, and the whole family was worried, not just for Nanay Beth’s health, but also for the petitions of her sons.

When Nanay Beatriz knew her time was coming soon, she relayed her final wish to her U.S. citizen daughter, Juliet: Hire Atty. Gurfinkel to

take care of the petition for her sons, even if he is expensive. Nanay’s words were “Anak, salamat. Kasi kahit paano, alam kong gagawa ka ng paraan… para makarating ang mga kapatid mo…”

(Thank you, child. I know that you will find the means to be able to get your brothers here to the U.S.) One Sunday, at Church, Juliet prayed for three signs to know how she should proceed, since after her mother died, the petition for her brothers “died” with her. By divine intervention, Juliet discerned the three signs while watching an episode of Citizen Pinoy that evening.

During the Q&A portion of the show, (1) the first person to ask a question was Beth, which was her mother Beatriz’ nickname; (2) the second person’s name was Del, which is part of Juliet’s last name; and (3) the third person’s case was exactly the same as theirs: the petitioner died.

Watch how the power of prayer and a dedicated team at the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel were able to make Nanay Beatriz’ final wish come true on an all-new episode of CITIZEN PINOY – on Sunday at 6:15 pm (PST) on TFC.

(Advertising Supplement)

COVID-19 immigration...

PAGE 11 tion when they are prevented from being able to properly gather documentation or respond. USCIS should simply hold these types of decisions\ denials in abeyance until this pandemic is over.

However, if a person should miss a deadline because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in certain circumstances there could still be relief available based on “extraordinary circumstances.”

For my part, my office is still open and operational in order to serve our clients and community. While we are all operating remotely from our homes, all of our staff members are equipped with technology and tools to continue to call clients, work on cases,

and keep clients informed at all times. Consultations are still done by phone. This is a testimony to our commitment in serving our clients, and we are prepared to do so no matter what.

This is a very difficult time for all of us, requiring virtually an overnight retooling in the way we operate. But we are up to the challenge, and we will continue to keep you informed of any further developments.” *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 35 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is

different and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories”, endorsements and reenactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw and Twitter @GurfinkelLaw Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

Fil-Am director Dean Devlin’s...

PAGE 11 Bigfoot Studios in Cebu.

Thankfully, the production had finished and left the Philippines before the government stopped international flights because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We literally wrapped production 18 hours before they stopped the international flights. It was crazy. It felt like we were on the top of that building in Saigon during the fall of Vietnam trying to get the last helicopter out. But we finished the season,” Devlin said.

The 10-episode series, shot in the island of Cebu, features a predominantly Filipino cast

and crew. Actors Samantha Richelle and Arthur Acuña star as detectives Kai Mendoza and Ernesto Alamares, respectively.

When Devlin and Kane took a trip to Manila to scout local talent, Richelle auditioned for the role of Kai Mendoza upon the recommendation of Dela Torre and blew them away.

“In me preparing for the role of Kai, I literally fell in love with her…She’s such a ballsy character, but yet also very sympathetic. It was just amazing to be able to delve into that,” Richelle told the Asian Journal, adding that a week before filming began, she did combat training and learned

how to shoot.

“You’ll see in the show, every episode we pushed a little bit farther on [how] she can go as an actor and every time we raised the expectations, Samantha reached it. This character really develops over the course of the season and this is no easy acting job,” Devlin said. “She’s really the breakout actor on this show.”

Filmmakers Francis Dela Torre, Hannah Espia, Dan Villegas and Irene Villamor directed several episodes; meanwhile, Pao Orendain served as director of photography and Digo Ricio as production designer.

PAGE 13

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • ApRIL 3-9, 2020

Cathartic pause during...

PAGE 12 It seems however that war and the decimation of populations, as envisioned by globalists who want to control human population growth and consumption of the earth’s resources, foremost among whom is Bill Gates and his ilk, know that pandemics are an efficient, nearly bloodless way of achieving their elitist one world view. They will crash economies if they have to. They already have more money than God. A few of these elitist globalists want to play God and get to decide just how many people the earth can and should sustain.

This is the view where abortion is the norm and socialist healthcare death panels decide who gets to live or die among the elderly members of the population. The current case in point is Italian triage where the elderly is left to die in favor of the younger patients because of limited resources and exhausted medical personnel. Climate change is the globalist’s religion and planet earth is his god.

The internet as a tool to gather information is like a sword. It is double-edged. You

FOR RENT

can use it for good or ill. It is rife with stories, information and disinformation and tons of propaganda. The global blame game is coming up. I hear grumblings as to who should be held to account for this pandemic. It is still early because the virus, scientists claim, has not peaked yet in many places. There will surely be hell to pay for all the destruction wrought, whether deliberate or accidental. Sifting through information or what passes for it these days needs an industrial strength filter and a good noggin just to sort through them. Forget the media. It cannot be trusted.

Big media, owned just by 7 conglomerates all in alignment with a globalist agenda, have decidedly morphed as the enemy of the people, spinning lies, disinformation and propaganda to push its one world view agenda. VIEWER BEWARE! The antidote to lies, damned lies and statistics made to lie: Go direct to the source and figure it out yourself. Too busy to do this? Read or listen to those who have a good grasp and understanding of history and current world events and

more importantly, who have no agenda to push.

THIS CRISIS however, like everything else in the course of human history, SHALL COME TO PASS. On a different note, my sister Evelyn texted me this short message below. Consider it a wake-up call. Apparently written by an anonymous writer, it addresses why this thing may be happening. Perhaps, there IS a much bigger story behind why the world is on a cathartic pause. We are on a standstill and in uncharted territory waiting maybe for a reset, a confrontation, a war or even an earthshaking spiritual revival. God is renewing the face of the earth.

In any case, I hope this goes viral and makes people think more deeply.

In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship.

God said, “You want to worship athletes, I will shut down stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down civic centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worPAGE 15

SERVICES

Know thy enemy...

PAGE 12 surfaces for different length of time: From the time an infected person coughs or sneezes, the trajectory of the virus-loaded droplets stay in the air for up to 3 hours, and thereafter settle on the ground within about 6 to 10 feet, depending on the air flow or wind. It is best not to do dusting or shake clean clothing, which will spread the virus more. Use damp cloth to clean the floor, to limit the virus from flying around.

On copper and wooden surfaces, it stays active for up to 4 hours. On cardboard and paper, this virus could survive up to 24 hours, and about 2 to 3 days on ATM machines (screen and keypad), likewise

on plastic and metal surfaces.

It is unclear for porous material, like clothing and textile, but it is suspected that the virus may be absorbed by the fiber and the virus dies more quickly than on hard surfaces.

Since the virus does not survive well when the temperature is above 73˚F (23˚C), when the summer months arrive in the sun belt States and in other countries, the hot season might mitigate the spread of the virus somewhat. Since the SARS-CoV2 virus is new, we still have a lot to learn about it.

New speedy testing At the behest of President Trump, the FDA had fasttracked the approval for countless labs to develop tests for COVID-19. He announced

13

recently that Abbott Lab had developed lightning-fast and accurate instant “point-ofcare” molecular test that can be performed in doctor’s offices, hospitals, etc., which will yield positive results in 5 minutes and 13 minutes for negative test, on the spot. This brilliant test was launched on April 1. This good news should not make us overly confident and careless. The mnemonic COVID strategy we coined below is still the best tactic we have against COVID-19 to save ourselves, our loved ones, and the elderly.

UVC light: Anti-viral Since UVC light was found to be effective in damaging the DNA of viruses in past MERS/ SARS epidemic and pandemic, it is reasonable to suspect that UVC light could also be effecPAGE 15

Fil-Am director Dean Devlin’s...

PAGE 12 “This is a very intense American way of doing a TV series…This crew was amazingly responsive because this was not in their comfort zone at all. It’s not the way that they do shows in the Philippines.

They were all eager to learn [and]…they all kind of wanted

to show what they could do,” Devlin added.

With more Filipino faces on an American network, Devlin sees it as a way to usher in more Filipino representation.

“There’s been a wonderful explosion of diversity in entertainment over the last few years. But the Asian com-

SERVICES

munity in general — and the Filipino community in specific — has really been left behind that. We wanted to be part of the energy that’s correcting that and part of pushing us into the spotlight and saying, ‘Hey, take a look. I think you’re gonna like what you see,’” he said.

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APRIL 3-9, 2020 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

(212) 655-5426 N E W http://www.asianjournal.com YO R K / N E W J E R S• EY A P R I L 3, 2 0 2 0

people events arts culture entertainment

Friends, family celebrate the life and legacy of Chef Rodelio Aglibot

C

by

MOMAR G. VISAYA / AJPress

HEF Rodelio Aglibot died over the weekend of an apparent heart attack and tributes and testimonials continue to pour. He was a man who wore many hats: as a chef, restaurateur, TV host and personality, entrepreneur and food consultant.

Chef Rogelio Aglibot with his sister Ruby Byers and her daughter Caroline who he fondly calls Callie Sue, according to Byers. Photo was taken when Byers visited him in Cincinnati about a month ago.

Contributed photo by Ruby Byers

Chef Rod at the launching of The New Filipino Kitchen cook book in New York held on March 30, 2019.

AJPress photos by Momar G. Visaya

As a man who wore many hats, Chef Rod was also a restaurateur, entrepreneur and food consultant.

Photo from Facebook/Rodelio Aglibot

Chef Rod prepared Avocado Mousse with Raspberry Sauce and Lychee Granita, a dessert he created at Yi Cuisine in Los Angeles almost two decades ago.

“Our hearts are broken.

We learned yesterday that my big brother, favorite chef, best uncle and lolo ever, the always-smiling, never-met-astranger, family-to-everyone passed away on Friday, due to an apparent cardiac arrest,” Aglibot’s sister Ruby Byers posted on Sunday, March 29. “In his 52 years on earth, he touched so many lives all around the world. He had the best time no matter where he went, what he was doing, or whom he was with.

If you knew him, you loved him. If you knew him, I know your heart is broken too.”

Aglibot introduced Filipino food to mainstream America in San Francisco back in 1996. He was then working as a sous chef at E&O Trading Company, a pan-Asian restaurant which served wood-fired adobo pork chops and Filipino egg rolls. He moved back to Los Angeles as the chef of Zazen, another pan-Asian restaurant where he infused more Filipino dishes and flavors into the restaurant’s menu.

He became more famous in the Los Angeles area when he became the opening executive chef at Koi, a celebrity hotspot. Then he opened Yi Cuisine, where he wrote a menu that mirrored his biography as a young chef and served a number of Filipino dishes. He then moved to Chicago and became the founding chef at the hotspot Sunda. Years later, he opened Me Geisha Salerno in Rome and Salerno.

The Filipino American chef goes by a number of moni-

kers: Den or Denden to his close friends relatives, Tiny to his UCLA pals, Chef Rod and Food Buddha to those he fed and mentored and to the culinary world. He also starred in the TLC show eponymously called Food Buddha, which became famous because he would go to restaurants with some friends and order OOE, or “one of each.” He is the man behind various restaurant concepts like E+O and FireFin Poke.

“My brother’s impact in the restaurant community extends beyond the four walls of any restaurant,” said Byers. “It’s the relationships he built, the personal touch he gave, and how he made his colleagues, team and customers feel. As I read through Facebook post after post, it was obvious to me that he made every person feel like they were indeed his very best friend. It’s that kind of legacy that we all hope to leave and he achieved it with humility, love, and the biggest smile that will not be forgotten.”

Byers also requested Aglibot’s friends for more prayers for their parents, who are in the Philippines.

“I rest in the fact that he’s reunited with our younger brother and know I will see them both again.

I have two guardian

angels now, even though, honestly, I would rather have them here,” she wrote.

“Please keep our family in your prayers, especially our mom and dad. They will be traveling home to CA in the next few days from the Philippines. No parent should have to bury their child, let alone two. They will especially need to feel your love, prayers and God’s presence in the coming days, weeks, months.”

Among those who expressed grief and sent their prayers and condolences on social media are people he had worked with, from fellow

chefs and customers to colleagues in the culinary industry.

Jacqueline Chio Lauri, editor of the book The New Filipino Kitchen, recalled the day when he invited Chef Rod for an interview, along with a recipe and a story for the book.

“I didn’t expect to hear back from him at all, let alone hear back from him quickly.

You see, he was a celebrity chef, running an empire of restaurants. Why would he bother giving me or my little project the time of day?”

Lauri said. “He had nothing to gain and a lot of precious time to lose by participating in the project. Apparently, I didn’t know him at all. Chef Rod was not in it to gain, he was in it to give.”

And he, indeed, gave wholeheartedly.

He organized and joined PAGE 15

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • ApRIL 3-9, 2020

‘This pandemic has kept my family apart’: Fil-Am actor Nico Santos says stepdad died from coronavirus

By Ritchel Mendiola AJPress

FILIPINO American actor Nico Santos over the weekend announced that his stepfather has succumbed to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Santos paid tribute to his stepfather “Tito Sonny” on Saturday, March 28, a day after the latter lost his battle with the virus.

“He was a kind, caring man. Friendly to a fault.

He always greeted strangers walking past him with a chipper ‘Good Morning!’ and a big smile. He had a great laugh that filled the room with joy,” the actor said in the tribute, sharing a photo of his stepfather and mother.

Santos shared that his mother “Tita” also contracted COVID-19, but hasn’t required hospitalization.

“My mom is also fighting COVID-19. For the time being, she has not required hospitalization,” he said.

He also expressed his pain and frustrations in dealing with the family’s loss during the pandemic.

“The loss of my stepfather is devastating but what

PAGE 13 ship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market.

You don’t want to go to church and worship ME, I will make it where you can’t go to church.”

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,

then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Maybe we don’t need a vaccine. Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival where we focus on the only thing in the world that really matters – JESUS. Enjoy this forced sabbati-

Know thy enemy...

“This is my stepdad Sonny and my mom Tita. My Tito Sonny passed away yesterday after losing his battle with COVID-19,” actor Nico Santos wrote on Instagram on Saturday.

has gutted me is that this pandemic has kept my family apart. We were unable to be with him during his last days. I can’t hold my mother as she mourns her husband. I can’t hug my brother as he contemplates a world without his father.

I can’t wipe away the tears from my nephews’ eyes as they wonder why their Lolo Sonny isn’t here anymore,” he said.

Santos ended his post by requesting everyone to send prayers for his mother.

“Please continue to pray and send healing energy to my mom. I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy. Rest In Peace Tito

Friends, family...

PAGE 14 events last year to launch the book, bringing people together and advancing the goal of having the group’s diverse voices heard through Filipino cuisine.

In the book, Aglibot shared the recipe for Avocado Mousse with Raspberry Sauce and Lychee Granita, a dessert he created at Yi Cuisine, which was the first upscale Filipino restaurant in Los Angeles when it opened.

The inspiration behind this signature dish was the avocado dessert that Aglibot’s parents used to serve them back in Hawaii, something which he called “a piece of his childhood.”

He also grieved the time when they had to close the restaurant for good.

“But there’s one thing I’m certain of to this day: of all the restaurant’s I’ve opened, Yi Cuisine is the one I’m proudest of,” he said. “I am

Cathartic pause...

proud of it not for the accolades it earned, but for what the menu stood for and the story it told. Filipino cuisine, after all, is like the pear shaped avocado. The fact that it is lesser known as a fruit in culinary preparations doesn’t make it any less of a fruit.”

It was at Yi where Aglibot said he completely embraced and promoted his heritage.

On the menu then were dishes that highlighted his Filipino background such as chicken adobo, oxtail kare kare, crispy pata using Kurobuta pork served with a complementary vinegar dip enriched with foie gras and his own take on sinigang, using seafood soured with tamarind.

Fellow contributors to “The New Filipino Kitchen” book also honored Aglibot’s memory.

“When I learned he was part of the New Filipino

Nico Santos

Photo courtesy of Nico Santos/Instagram

Sonny. I love you,” he said.

Santos was born in the Philippines and moved to Gresham, Oregon with his family at 16. He played Oliver T’sien in the movie adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” and is also starring in the NBC hit series “Superstore” as a sales associate named Mateo Liwanag.

As of writing, there are now more than 140,000 confirmed cases of COVID19 in the United States, with more than 2,000 fatalities and 4,000 recoveries.

Kitchen Cookbook, I thought how dope it was to be part of a project with someone who did so much for the Filipino food community,” wrote Joanne Boston Kwanhull, who remembers seeing him on TV. “He opened doors for the Filipino food community long before it was the “cool” or “IG-worthy” thing to do.”

“My memories of you will remain strong, and as nourishing as the lugaw you made for our book launch in Chicago, as delicious as the crab fat aioli you whipped up at my birthday party (to accompany the prawn paste chicken) and sweet like your signature avocado dessert,” said writer Vanessa Hangad, who contributed the recipe of kare-kare which is one of Aglibot’s favorite dishes.

“My deepest condolences to your family & everyone who loves you (there’s so many of us) “You made the world a better place as an internationally renowned (yet down to earth) chef, entrepreneur, trailblazer & friend.”

PAGE 13 tive in destroying the SARSCoV2 virus. All medical centers have been routinely sterilizing their OR and ICUs, etc. using UVC light for more than a century, after it was invented in 1801. Many have been trying it these days to sterilize the much-needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our medical front-liners, like masks, eye wears, gowns, gloves, etc., which are in low supply. In Italy 50 physicians have died from COVID-19, six in the Philippines, and countless around the globe, including in China, Spain, and Iran, among others. Caution: UVC light is injurious to the skin (burns and potential skin cancer) and to the eyes (cataract formation). Use only on empty rooms.

HydroxyChloroquine + Azithromax Following President Trump’s request, the FDA has reluctantly allowed the off-label use of Hydroxycholoquine (used for decades for malaria, lupus, arthritis, amebiasis), for trial use for COVID-19 patients.

Added to treat the COVID-19 pneumonia, is Azithromycin, a previously approved antibiotic.

Some initial reports are very encouraging, especially from France. The next question is whether hydroxychloroquine could also be effective for prophylaxis, to prevent infection by this virus, especially those physicians and other front-liners, the unsung heroes putting themselves in harm’s way in this pandemic, who are directly exposed to COVID-19 patients day in and day out, like my own four children and three sons-in-law, who are treating patients without adequate PPE to protect them.

Convalescent serum The serum from recovered virus patients in past pandemics, including in the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed about 100 million, MERS, and SARS, showed that their (serum) contained a lot of antibodies that could be transfused to those infected with the virus to help

them fight the infection successfully, in an otherwise helpless situation. The regimen is now used as an adjunct therapy for COVID-19 patients.

ECMO for severe COVID19 The use of Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenator (heartlung machine used routinely in open-heart surgery) is an option among those with COVID-19 pneumonia that is not responding to standard ventilator, which are in serious short supply even in the U.S. The ECMO acts as an artificial lung to keep the patient’s blood oxygenated. There are indications, restrictions, and limitations of this treatment.

To end COVID-19, practice COVID The best tool we have to end this deadly pandemic faster and sooner is this common sense personal behavioral modification DIY strategy – Fight COVID-19 with COVID: Cover face to scratch, sneeze or cough; Omit non-essential travels; Voluntary quarantine; Intensive handwashing; Distancing.

Potential threat A clinical report from China says the SARS-CoV2 virus was found in the saliva of recovered patients 39 days after the pharyngeal swab was negative and positive in feces up to 13 days afterwards. The question is whether those who had recovered and had tested negative are truly virus-free and non-contagious. The other is, is the virus also spread by fecal contamination? Studies are ongoing.

Our unsung heroes While we who are able to stay home on self-quarantine are safe, front-liner physicians, nurses, allied healthcare and other hospital personnel, first responders of every kind, put themselves in harm’s way, exposing themselves to the killer virus 24/7, stepping out of their comfort zone in the name of selfless service to their sick fellowmen. Even their families at home are at a higher risk.

They are our unsung heroes.

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cal hiatus. It will be for only a short period of time and we will all be back to the rat race.

SIGH. It may surprise you what amazing grace it is having precious time in your hands to do as you please, even perhaps, to find the time for a personal revival of our relationship with God. *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com.

At least 50 physicians treating COVID-19 patients in Italy have died from COVID-19, six physicians in the Philippines (the youngest in her mid-30s), and unaccounted for numbers in China, Spain, Iran, Korea and the U.S. There is one thing, individually, we can do to help them: STAY OUT OF THE WAY. Stay home and avoid getting infected and spreading it to others, especially to the elderly, majority of whom have health issues. Let us not be the carrier of the virus and the courier of death.

Once again, unless someone at home had tested positive, a clean and well-ventilated home is the safest sanctuary against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Young people can also die from COVID-19.

Among the youngest ones who died so far were ages 12, 17, 24, and 26 years old.

The young man on the beach teeming with people during his summer break two weeks ago saying on TV “It’s my civil right to do what I want with my body and enjoy,” is obviously stupid and a greater threat than the virus to the public and especially to freedom and democracy. He has the right to kill himself but not others.

Gear up when outside If we have to go out to a grocery store, drug store, or for other essential matters, let us put on gloves, mask, and a cap, observe distancing, and wash our hands properly and frequently. We must not touch the mask either. Having a healthy dose of paranoia (medical vigilance) during this deadly pandemic is also helpful to protect ourselves and our family. Our invisible enemy is out there killing humans rapidly, including the young. *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, a Health Public Advocate, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. Websites: philipSchua.com and FUN8888.com; Email: scalpelpen@ gmail.com.

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april 3-9, 2020 • NEW YOrK aND NEW JErSEY aSiaN JOUrNal

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