"Facts and figures matter. Jobs and businesses matter. But foremost, lives matter."
"Facts and figures matter. Jobs and businesses matter. But foremost, lives matter."
With just 10 days before the end of the Extended Community Quarantine, everybody is focused on the lifting strategy to be imposed by government come April 30. Will there be an extension of the lockdown, say for another two weeks or so, like what happened the first time the imposed period was about to occur? Or will it be a month like what India and the UK have done after their own month-long impositions? Will it be a rolling one such as seems to be the case in Japan and Singapore? Or should it just be a modified, selective lockdown as seems to be the guidance of US President Trump?
The government has 10 days to think things over. We should expect President Duterte to give a hint of his predisposition when he makes his weekly report to Congress and the people on the implementation of the lockdown as provided for under the Bayanihan-to-Heal-as-One Act.
Actually, when he gave his report to the nation last week, the President already hinted at what he had in mind. His extending the ECQ for another two weeks was, in a sense, his means of getting a firmer handle on the situation before he makes a final decision. His decision matrix was clear: get the medical/health situation on track to a degree that the country can handle then we can talk about lifting in whatever form. Lives are foremost, the rest can follow. Not that he was insensitive to the clamor of the poorest and most vulnerable sectors who have cried out early on that they can only endure stay-at-home orders up to a certain point. Otherwise, they will risk getting infected as they will die of hunger anyway.
Nor was the President unaware of the plight of the middle income classes, specially the salaried workers or OFWs or pensioners or those whose businesses' continued existence cannot be more than a month or a quarter under a strict lockdown situation. He had all these in mind when he said foremost, lives matter.
Which is why the continuing focus on the first lockdown protocol: Stay safe, healthy and be a non-COVID-19 spreader. Yes, Sir. It is the rate of transmission of this invisible enemy which we should all look at. Pending the discovery of a vaccine (six to 18 months is the period of reckoning, say scientists and medical experts as of this writing), our main goal is to bring the level of transmission to the lowest possible rate. Which is why staying at home, frequent handwashing, wearing of face masks, social/physical distancing, banning of non-essential travel and large gatherings are important. These are the simple and cheap good habits as the authors of that incisive article "How Long Will Covid 19 Last? The Power of Good Habits and Good Systems" issued by the Asian School Business (ASB) based in Kuala Lumpur described them.