Have you had it?

[Explorer]

2 hours ago, Heeb said:

I thought about that too but from what I'm reading the Philippines treats the a positive antibody test as a covid case, you would have to then have the RT-PCR test to prove you don't have the virus currently, which brings me to the subject of travel to the U.S. Passengers are required to get a negative covid test within three days of departure "The negative pre-departure test must be a viral test (RT-PCR or Antigen) that was conducted on a specimen collected within 3 days prior to flight departure from a foreign country" The problem I see here is that if you opt for the antigen test you might pop positive for a case of covid that you already recovered from in which case you then have to prove you no longer have the virus.

I think you are confusing Antigen with Antibody. Antigen test is used to detect active covid infection, Antibody test is used to detect recovery from covid.

[Heeb]

32 minutes ago, Explorer said:

I think you are confusing Antigen with Antibody. Antigen test is used to detect active covid infection, Antibody test is used to detect recovery from covid.

oh okay, makes sense

[OnMyWay]

We just found out a "relative" in Baguio has it.  SIL's husband was tested because several employees at TI, where he works, had flu symptoms.  He tested positive without symptoms, and is in his second day in a quarantine hospital of some sort.  Now he has a slight fever and loss of taste.

Related, my wife's niece, his daughter, had severe stomach pain last night and they rushed her to the hospital, St. Louis, a decent hospital.  Arrived at 8 pm and doctor saw them at midnight.  SIL and niece were both required to take a swab test at p4000 each.  Both negative, I think.  Niece has a swollen kidney, probably related to UTI.

Edited April 1, 2021 by OnMyWay

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 3/28/2021 at 7:47 PM, OnMyWay said:

I thought I posted this last year, but I sure can't find it.

https://www.philippines-expats.com/topic/32018-have-you-had-it/

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Bobs your Uncle 

 

 

[Snowy79]

I'm currently dealing with two families that may or may not have Covid but due to culture and the assistance in the Philippines I can see the Government won't have a clue how far down the herd immunity route we are. 

Both families have been around Covid carriers and have now got family members showing symptoms.  One lives in a house with about ten others, one with four others but mixes with about twenty people daily.  Neither family will go anywhere near a doctor as they fear getting quarantined or a large medical bill.  They say they will just ride it out 

I could rattle off a list of many more saying the same thing. Including foreigners that don't trust the medical professionals here and believe they will be found positive even if not just to get screwed financially.  

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

Neither family will go anywhere near a doctor as they fear getting quarantined or a large medical bill.  They say they will just ride it out 

I could rattle off a list of many more saying the same thing. Including foreigners that don't trust the medical professionals here and believe they will be found positive even if not just to get screwed financially.  

Exactly!

 

[OnMyWay]

12 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Bobs your Uncle 

I used the "Content I started" option and scrolled back a few months.  I didn't think it was 6+ months ago!

[Mike J]

17 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I used the "Content I started" option and scrolled back a few months.  I didn't think it was 6+ months ago!

Time flies when you're have fun.  

[DaveB]

So...here's a tale from the trenches in the COVID struggles...and how it all spins off in one weird direction if you come up positive on a PCR test.

I went through the long and often confusing experience of chasing down travel requirements to go Bataan, specifically Morong, and see if we want to go live there.  Among the list of things needed to get through the Province checkpoint and enrolled in a resort: a PCR COVID test (nasal swab job) no more than 48 hours old.  So I needed this for me, my wife, and my "maid" who was going with us ("Maid" is in quotes because, though she does all the usual maid/cook things, she's actually a cousin of my wife's and part of the family - more like a member of my household, so "maid" is kind of misleading).

I elected to go to Medical City Clark for the tests.  More expensive, but also done in a more professional manner that gave me more confidence.  I've heard too many stories about weird episodes with some of the "fly by night" opportunists running test labs these days.  I wanted to make sure I had a good, timely result so no hassles at the checkpoints.  I should mention that I'm also already vaccinated (Phizer via the VA), and was "told" by the resort I didn't need the COVID test if I had the vax card - but as usual, it's dicey to believe one source's opinion when you don't know what the other is going to do.  So I got the COVID test anyway, just in case there was a hassle with some uninformed or over zealous checkpoint guard.

The night of the test, the results come back.  My wife and I are negative, but my "maid" Lucy is positive.  Very weird  She's totally asymptomatic, and she and my wife do everything together including sitting in taxis and trikes and shopping and watching TV on the couch.  I began to suspect a "false positive", but by then we're stuck with the results.  I was pretty sure they were going to be reported to the COVID police and I expected those guys to show up the next day.  I figured if there was any room for discussion, I could engage that when they got there.  Well...they showed up 2 days later.  Part one of the schizophrenic approach to COVID: very big deal someone is positive, very big concern over that someone spreading the disease, so let's get right on it - 48 hours from now.  By the time they got here, Lucy could have killed half the subdivision, if she was a real threat.

I already knew mandatory quarantine was coming.  Turned out, they gave her a choice of staying 2 weeks in a hospital ward - and government pays the cost; or two weeks in a contracted quarantine hotel - and we pay P1000 per night for room and meals.  I opted to go with the hotel.  The poor lady is a classic 62 year old Filipina, had a hard scrabble life, raised a son by herself, and was scared to the point of tears.  Had never been away from her family or stayed in a hotel before (we had to text her about how to call room service).  No way was I sticking her on a hospital ward.  Then, to top it off, they showed up with a van, with red lights flashing, and a driver in a full hazmat suit.  Scared her all the more.  And keep in mind - this is like 48 hours after the positive test.  It was like "wait for it...wait for it...Ok...NOW - panic, emergency!!!"

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there was a weird discussion over what my wife and I are going to be required to do.  I provided our negative COVID test results, and I provided my vaccine card.  At that point a drawn out discussion ensued that involved a couple rounds of phone calls with medical professionals.  First decision: no quarantine needed for either of us.  Makes sense, that. Then...well...actually, you need to do a 14 day quarantine in your house.  Now that one baffles the hell out of me. 

In addition, I had a couple other family members here the day before we were going to leave - they were going to stay in the house while we were gone and be "house sitters".  The health crew determined that they, too, needed to do a 14 day house quarantine, but they were set up to get COVID tests - five days later.  Again, a weird sense of urgency traded off against a Filipino sense of timing.  Not sure what the hell is going to happen if one of them posts positive - though I think the odds are real, real slim that is going to happen.

I'm still puzzled as to why, under the starting conditions, they didn't opt to retest Lucy to double check that positive test result.

Final activity.  Late in the day a couple guys show up to disinfect the house.  They had a portable sprayer.  They wandered about the house doing a token nozzle spray in every room - and I do mean "token".  I was concerned they'd spray the place down like an exterminator going after termites.  Instead, they'd wave the wand around a time or two, and perhaps actually put disinfectant on about 10% of any given surface.  In the long run, that was a lot less disruptive and glad of it - but I do have to wonder: what was the point of all that?

I'll finish by reinforcing my ongoing observation: thus far, vaccination seems to be such a novel thing that the bulk of the Philippine governmental machinations just don't quite know what to do with someone that's been inoculated.  The resort I was talking to had to go off and discuss it.  The Bataan Tourist bureau passed on making any ruling.  The COVID police were completely baffled - like they'd never encountered such a thing (vaccinations are just getting off the ground here in Angeles City - just working through the top tier of elderly and first responders right now).  I fully expect, perhaps by end of summer, they'll finally get some rules in place affecting both living in the Philippines with a vaccine, and entering the Philippines with a vaccine card of some kind.  Until then, it's a matter of covering your ass best as you can and prepare for the inevitable confusion.

[DaveB]

On 4/2/2021 at 1:44 PM, OnMyWay said:

Neither family will go anywhere near a doctor as they fear getting quarantined or a large medical bill.  They say they will just ride it out 

A quick follow up on this observation from OnMyWay.  We're all aware that Filipinos are dug-in, and absolutely, medical establishment adverse.  It was another element of why Lucy was so frightened.  My personal thoughts on the fear are based on my belief that the average Filipino simply hasn't the money to deal with professional medical care. So they fall back on cultural cures and prayer.  When they have some ailment that is beyond those cares, they get pretty bad off, and ultimately bad enough to go to the medical community - and by then, it's often just too late.  So, a sentiment still repeated by my wife (despite her 30 years in the US): hospitals are where you go to die.

Anyway...if it's ever needed to help convince someone to get COVID care: the government picks up the cost all the way through...tests, quarantine, follow on doctor visits along the way (Lucy gets visited every other day and can get a doctor by just asking for one).  We incurred the extra cost because I elected to have her stay in a hotel instead of a hospital ward.  So...other than perhaps the initial ER visit cost to get diagnosed with COVID in the first place, the government has a process - which works despite its quirks - and anything they demand to be done, they are willing pay for.