Cayetano plea to media: Be prudent, put context to coronavirus report and help quell panic

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday urged media to include in their reports the “positive” developments regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In a press briefing, Cayetano said that some individuals are feeling more panic due to the news released by media outlets.

“We’re asking media to put into context their reports. Yes, we have to report the increasing number but if you can also report yung mga gumagaling o yung lumalakas, ‘yung mga positive (report about those whose conditions are improving or recovered, those that are positive), how they’re coping with hard economic times,” Cayetano said.

“Hindi po namin kayo tinuturuan kung paano mag-report pero sa totoo lang po lahat ng nakakausap ko pag nanunuod ng news, lalong napa-praning or nagtatanong kung time na ba to panic (We are not teaching you how to do your reports but to be honest everyone who I speak with when watching news are feeling more scared and are asking if it is time to panic),” he added.

Cayetano also extended his call to resource persons and interviewees to not forget to share “good news” and “silver lining” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Definitely your reporting helps and definitely nire-report nyo lang yung nilalabas ng gobyero but if we can all be more creative—and dun sa mga nagpapa-interview to also not forget the good news, not forget the silver lining, not to forget to announce yung mga programa na ginagawa,” the House Speaker said.

(Definitely your reporting helps and definitely you are just reporting what the government is saying but if we can all be more creative—and to interviewees to also not forget the good news, not forget the silver lining, not to forget to announce the programs in place.)

Cayetano underscored the importance of including the context in disseminating information about the disease.

As of Sunday evening, DOH has reported 140 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, with the death toll at 12.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.

The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can cause serious illness such as pneumonia for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.

Coronavirus is a family of viruses, whose surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.