ON May 15, it will be two months since Metro Manila – along with the whole of Luzon – was locked down with an Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) that closed down all business and industry operations and offices, mass transportation, and kept everyone in their homes. It was the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original lockdown for Metro Manila was for one month – until April 15. It was extended by two weeks to April 30, then by another two weeks to May 15. The lockdown has probably kept the virus from spreading as much as it has in many other countries, such as the United States, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. But the lockdowns have had serious economic consequences – companies filing for bankruptcy, millions losing their jobs, and nations facing problems of recovery from plunging GDPs.
The Philippines has fared relatively well in keeping the number of COVID-19 deaths down. It is one of the countries doing well in mitigating the impact on the national economy. But after two months of lockdown, the people of Metro Manila are looking forward to the end of ECQ inactivity. The poor may welcome the food aid and the cash aid distributed by the national government through local government units, but they really would rather fend for themselves as they did before the lockdown.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has now issued guidelines for malls and shopping centers that are expected to reopen under a General Community Quarantine (GCQ), a step down from the total Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). In a memorandum issued last Monday, the DTI said people in a mall must be limited to one per square meter of area. Individuals must be one meter apart at all times. Air-conditioning must be set at 26 degrees maximum. There should be no WiFi service, as this encourages loitering.
The Department of Health has its own requirements – use of face masks, disinfection of mall equipment and vehicles in operation areas, and physical distancing in queues, etc.
The Department of Transportation has issued illustrations of required passenger positions in buses and rail coaches to maintain the proper one-meter distance. Trains will be allowed to carry only 25 percent of their regular capacity. Before the COVID-19 restrictions, Metro Manila’s rail systems were known for long lines of people just to enter train stations as well as extreme overcrowding in the coaches themselves.
There will still be some restrictions after May 15, but no longer the total lockdown of the last two months. It is time to reopen the offices and the factories and the malls. The people, we are sure, can be trusted to maintain their distance from one another, to keep washing their hands thoroughly, to continue wearing face masks until the world declares an end to the pandemic. Some may continue to do so for months afterwards.
