THE government is now trying to decide when and how much it will further relax restrictions in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. It is not a problem of government alone; it is a problem faced by every individual and every family in this still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force recommended that children 10 years old and above in MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine) areas now be allowed to leave their homes after 10 months as of stay-at home restrictions, but concerns were immediately raised that it might not yet be safe for them.
The goal is to encourage more families to go out and spend some time in malls as they used to, so as to boost business activity in the midst of the sluggish economy, Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez said. But some Metro Manila mayors have expressed concern that this might cause an increase in COVID cases. The secretary has thus set a meeting with the mayors.
The mayors are trying to balance their concerns between reviving the economy and triggering an increase in COVID cases, he said. “They are not opposed to easing restrictions per se. They just want to take precautions.”
This is actually the same concern of the families they are talking about. They too – the children especially – would like to go out again and perhaps have Sunday lunch in the malls as they used to. More than Secretary Lopez, they would like to enjoy the Sundays they used to share. But – more than the mayors – they are afraid their outing might lead to infection.
It has now been over 10 months since the quarantine restrictions began on March 15, 2020. We can understand Secretary Lopez’s concern about the country’s economy. Business optimism in county is at its lowest in the last four years, he said, with up to 50 percent of enterprises closing down this past year.
The Philippines, he recalled, was projected to be the second fastest growing emerging market in 2019- 2028 in a February, 2019, study by Oxford Economics, second only to India. “And now, we are at the bottom,” he said. “We have to think and consider easing the restrictions.”
In any easing of restrictions, he stressed, strict health protocols such as face masks and safe distancing must be followed. By now, it must be said, this has become second nature to nearly everyone, knowing that these are now our only protection against the virus, until the vaccines come. According to the latest reports, mass vaccinations in the country can begin only around April or May. And only 50 percent of the populace will have been vaccinated by the end of the year.
