ON so many fronts and on so many levels, the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect governments, business institutions and social organizations, and individuals around the globe.
The most basic fear arises from the deaths that continue to mount in many countries. The deaths may have been stopped in China where it all began, but everywhere else – especially in Italy and Iran – hundreds of deaths continue to be reported.
Governments are also concerned with the pandemic’s effects on the economy. In the Philippines, a London-based think tank, Capital Economics, said it sees the Philippine economy slowed in the first quarter, suffer a steep contraction in the second quarter, a severe contraction in the third quarter, and have a strong recovery in the fourth quarter.
But it is on the level of people that our national leaders must now devote their greatest attention. The primary goal remains the common people’s safety and their survival, not just from the coronavirus but also from the sudden disruption in their lives caused by the lockdown.
The people of Luzon have generally accepted the need for the quarantine or lockdown. Sen. Miguel Zubiri, the highest official to be infected, said he probably was infected by a visitor in the Senate and when he started feeling bad, he – along with Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Nancy Binay – immediately quarantined themselves in their Senate rooms. He subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.
The three senators are an example for all of us. Senator Zubiri’s illness shows that the coronavirus could infect anyone close enough for the virus to jump to him from the droplets in the breath of an infected person. The closeness of persons, especially in crowds, is what the ongoing quarantine or lockdown in Luzon seeks to prevent.
In our hospitals around the country, our doctors, nurses, and other health workers are in the frontlines of the battle against the virus. The ordinary people among us can only help by following the lockdown restrictions so as to deprive the virus of new victims.
As for the economic impact of the pandemic, there will be time later to attend to it. It is good that the London think tank Capital Economics sees a recovery for the Philippine economy by the last quarter of this year. That should help move our officials to concentrate on the needs of the people, particularly the poorest of the poor among us, who need help to survive these difficult times.
