“Festivals cause diseases, since they lighten cares but increase gluttony.” –Apollonius of Tyana

The Dinagyang Festival appears to have surpassed other festivals in country venerating the feast of the historical child Jesus. Unlike the other festivals, the Iloilo City commemoration showcased culture and religion alongside tourism and a beauty pageant. The Ilonggo propensity for innovation and competition is manifested in what the Iloilo City Festivals Foundation Inc. repackaged and remodeled the annual gathering—the Dinagyang Festival is a major source of fame and pride.
However, if the festival’s glory is not sustained, it can become a source of shame.
The festival is now on the universe’s radar and the public cannot afford to be passive, resulting in the festival reverting back to occultism, or the belief in influence by the supernatural.

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Snakes, specifically, the Chinese krait and cobra, are believed to be the source of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the latest CoV strain.
According to The Conversation, a news outlet sourced from the academic and research community, microbiology professors Haitao Guo, Guangxiang ‘George’ Luo, and Shou-Jiang Gao recently provided their findings: “The many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), also known as the Taiwanese krait or the Chinese krait, is a highly venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and southeast Asia. The study of the genetic code of 2019-nCoV reveals that the new virus is most closely related to two bat SARS-like coronavirus samples from China, initially suggesting that—like SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)—the bat might also be the origin of 2019-nCoV. The authors further found that the viral RNA coding sequence of 2019-nCoV spike protein, which forms the “crown” of the virus particle that recognizes the receptor on a host cell, indicates that the bat virus might have mutated before infecting people. But when the researchers performed a more detailed bioinformatics analysis of the sequence of 2019-nCoV, it suggests that this coronavirus might come from snakes. In the case of this coronavirus outbreak, reports state that most of the first group of patients hospitalized were workers or customers at a Wuhan seafood wholesale market which also sold processed meats and live consumable animals including poultry, donkeys, sheep, pigs, camels, foxes, badgers, bamboo rats, hedgehogs and reptiles. However, since no one has ever reported finding a coronavirus infecting aquatic animals, it is plausible that the coronavirus may have originated from other animals sold in that market.”
Following a recent World Health Organization (WHO) emergency committee meeting, further international exportation of cases is expected; which means all countries must be prepared. According to international health regulations, all data must be shared with WHO.
Countries should also place particular emphasis on reducing human infection, prevention of secondary transmission and international spread, and contributing to the international response though multi-sectoral communication, collaboration, and active participation in increasing knowledge on the virus and the disease.
Countries should also follow travel advice provided by WHO.
Considering 2019-nCoV is a new strain, the global community should continue to demonstrate solidarity and cooperation, which is in compliance with international health regulations.

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Alex P. Vidal, who is based in New York City, used to be the editor for two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ