The need for mass testing and the proper post-COVID-19 test behavior in the Philippines.

In a recent article, the researcher asked if people's behavior after receiving negative COVID-19 tests contribute to the spread of the virus. It was discussed that even though testing mitigated the coronavirus spread, false confidence among those who have negative results contributed to the spread of the virus. This article, then, proposes that there is a need for mass testing for new virus variants and a foundation for proper behavior after testing.

A recent article declared that testing vulnerable populations control the spread of the virus, but false confidence among those who tested negative contributed to the spread of the virus, especially in countries without mass testing programs. This article emphasizes the need for mass testing, especially for the new virus variants, and a foundation for proper behavior after testing.

A study from Norwich in England said that asymptomatic testing helped control transmission and that repetitive self-testing, even for those without symptoms. In the Philippines, there have been more than half a million cases almost a year since the country implemented community quarantine measures in March 2020. The national government’s effort to ‘test, trace and isolate’ has not been mainly prioritized, and therefore, not fully implemented. The Supreme Court of the Philippines has even thrown out a petition seeking for free mass testing by the government. This is despite billions of dollars loaned by the government in response to the pandemic. The need for mass testing, especially for asymptomatic carriers, is even more urgent as new COVID-19 variants have arrived in the country. A Filipino traveller from the Middle East arrived in the country carrying the UK variant and has spread since. There are also cases of the UK variant recorded in Bontoc Province, which had no records of traveling abroad. This may be because the virus had already spread in places where contact tracing and mass testing is compromised. The Philippine government must strengthen its mass testing programs if it is to curb the spread of the virus.

French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, on his take regarding ‘the face of the other’, defines responsibility as a pre-conscious, rational reaction to the other’s externality. He explains that being responsible goes beyond rationality since one’s responsibility can be awakened through understanding the situation of others. It implies that by seeing the ‘face of the other’, one’s ethical responsibility can be realized by placing oneself in other person’s situation.

If Levinas’ ethics is understood as beyond the person’s rationality, then, the problem is not misunderstanding or rationalizing the spread of the virus; rather, it points one into understanding the outbreak of the virus. Understanding this situation is key to knowing one’s responsibility toward others as it helps the government and citizens to see how one can exercise ethical deeds such as conducting mass testing, contact tracing, maintaining social distancing or staying at home. People who received negative COVID-19 results must be mindful of their behavior since the country is still experiencing the COVID–19 onslaught. These people must still observe safety precautions after receiving the result of the test so that the spread of the virus will be mitigated.

There is no place for complacency even though one tests negative, or as health protocols are relaxed. Even though the experience of the pandemic seems irrational, understanding that one’s ethical responsibility towards the other will urge one to be mindful of one’s behaviors.

Authors’ contribution

All authors contributed to all aspects of the manuscript.

Funding

No funding was received for this paper.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this paper.