The Department of Health {DOH} has launched the Philippine Acceleration Action Plan for Tuberculosis {PAAP-TB}, a multisectoral initiative to eradicate tuberculosis {TB} in the country by 2035. The DOH together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development {DSWD}, Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Labor and Employment {DOLE}, and Department of the Interior and Local Government {DILG}, through the PAAP-TB aims to provide wider access to health services, and improved education and public information, social protection, and labor protection to eradicate TB by 2030.
Tuberculosis is a chronic communicable disease that comes second only to COVID-19 as a leading cause of mortality from a single infectious organism. According to the Global TB Report 2022, the disease accounted for 1.6 million deaths in 2021. In a preliminary report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) this year, TB continues to rank 11th among the causes of death in the Filipino population.
OIC Secretary of Health – Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire delivers opening remarks onthe importance of TB eradication and building a healthy population
While the search continues for a cure for COVID-19, the best way anyone can do at the moment is to prevent it.
The Department of Health is one with the World Health Organization and the USA’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention in saying that the best way to prevent COVID-19 from spreading is to kill the novel coronavirus before it enters the body.
COVID-19 is contracted when the novel coronavirus enters the body. Respiratory viruses like the novel coronavirus, the flu, and the common cold can be spread via the hands. An infected person’s hands can touch some mucus, viral particles will stick to the hands and then transfer to whatever they touch. If someone is well, hands act like sticky traps for viruses and can pick up droplets that contain the novel coronavirus, which stay on the hands, and enter the body if the hands touch the face.
The news about the coronavirus outbreak is enough to stress anyone, especially mums. After all, we not only worry about ourselves, but more so about our children and our family. Most countries have declared lock-downs. Even our president placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine. The pandemic has suspended classes and closed down a number of establishments. Along with it the disruption of our normal day-to-day activities. We live in such difficult times that it is a must that we not only watch out for our physical health but also keep tabs on our mental condition. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to fight stress during the Covid-19 outbreak:
Reading is a good way to fight stress during the Covid-19 outbreak. Read the books you have hoarded but never found the time to. If you do not have a stock of printed books, you can also go online for free e-books. Famed author Paulo Coelho is offering Brida, Manuscripts Found In Accra, and other books for free download. Feast Books, a local publication, is also offering a Bo Sanchez e-book for free download. In addition, you can also read articles on how to care for yourself in this time of pandemic, like this one from Tiny Buddha. While you are at it, you might also want to read a number of inspiring quotes and articles online to keep you in a good mood.
Moreover, you might also want to research on some of the different natural stress relief out there. Reading about natural remedies such as CBD, for example, might help you to determine whether taking an alternative approach to dealing with your stress could work for you. There is a lot of research out there to suggest that CBD products can have a mood-boosting impact on the mind and body. Accordingly, you can learn more about the potential health-boosting benefits of CBD by taking a look at some of the helpful resources and products on the Gold Bee website.
Take A Mental Break
Exposing ourselves to too much news about the outbreak can also take its toll on our mental health, causing us to worry and think unnecessarily. Distancing ourselves from social media and the tellie and taking a mental break will do us loads of good. Instead, we can play music or play with our children to help us relax and put our mind at ease.
You may also try lighting a candle, diffusing essential oils, or taking a sip or two of kava kava to help ease anxiety or depression and give you a good night’s sleep.
