"Patience, self-discipline, and selflessness are key to keeping our nation afloat."
"Patience, self-discipline, and selflessness are key to keeping our nation afloat."
The entire Luzon has been under Enhanced Community Quarantine for the last four weeks, and extended for another two weeks. Everyone has been gearing to return to their normal lives. Is it returning to normal or are we just being readied for the “new normal”?
It bothers me terribly when some people blabber about ending our ECQ as if it were just a choice between yes or no, true or false, or switching the on or off button with the flick of a finger. Others comment that those who tested COVID-19 positive and its casualties are just numbers or statistics, but this is being insensitive. Worse, we tend to make unnecessary suppositions to figure out the impact of the pandemic. Politicians and nitpickers should stop answering questions or nibbling ideas of this sort without a holistic understanding of the entire situation and acting independent of the guidelines of the IATF—obviously this would mislead or misinform the public.
As much as we want to go our usual ways, we have to accept that times have indeed changed. It does not mean that we will be idle; we just have to accept that there is a new normal until a vaccine or medication has been discovered. To reopen the economy without a careful study is a knee-jerk reaction. The process of reopening the economy should not be abrupt and sudden; it must be a gradual and calibrated transition to normalcy. Like a patient recovering from a serious illness, he takes small bites and little steps until he is confident that he can eat and take a stride. This is the very essence of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or otherwise known as Republic Act No. 11469.
Ending the school year earlier is an option to slow down, if not arrest, the spread of COVID-19. Based on the data released by the Department of Education, at the start of the school year 2019-2020, there are 27.2 million students across the Philippines. Although there is no readily available data on the number of students in Metro Manila, it will be safe to assume that at least 10 percent of the students for this school year are from Metro Manila. To restrict the movement of these students and keep them in their homes coupled with physical distancing will hopefully decrease the level of transmission of the virus. The Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Schools, has in fact shortened its school year to until May 8, 2020. However, an important area of concern is the salaries or compensation of teachers and professors in the event of a premature termination of the school year. Will the government be ready to provide social amelioration or subsidies to the teachers who will be displaced?
Not similarly situated are students who need to qualify and pass government examinations for them to practice their respective professions. These graduate schools and universities are not expected to end their semester since they have to equip and adequately prepare their students for the forthcoming government board or bar exams. Despite these, the decisions of these universities may change or will be affected by the decision of those administering the government examinations to move the examinations to a later date because of the pandemic.
To allow manufacturing and construction industries to reopen is another option subject to the following: (a) their employees and workers will have to test negative for COVID-19 before returning to work; (b) they should be provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) in the workplace; and (c) they should not be allowed to return home but be provided with a quarantine area by the employers. If these suggested measures are not observed and they are allowed to return home then they may spread the virus further, and all advances by reason of the ECQ will be put to waste. The manufacturing sector should also strongly consider investing on equipment that will automate part of or the entire production process.
Opening the malls or department stores is not a sound option since people will tend to stay away from the potentially crowded areas and, except for grocery stores, drugstores, hardware stores and banks in those establishments, there will be unnecessary consumption of energy for light, water, and air conditioning for unutilized areas. More restaurants should be opened, but on a take-out or take away basis only. The problem is how consumers will purchase products if public transport continues to be suspended. There is some middle ground here, that is, the government may consider allowing the LRT and MRT to operate on a subsidized or reduced fare during the ECQ period. Buses may also be allowed to operate, observing physical distancing; but we should avoid jeepney and tricycle operations for the time being. This will make it easier for the law enforcement operatives to monitor compliance with the physical distancing regulation.
The rest of the industries and service providers will have to be carefully studied by the government to ascertain if work from home arrangements are still viable, understanding the nature of their work and the services they provide. Large gatherings like professional games, sports activities, networking conventions, and sales and marketing conferences should remain prohibited.
To reopen the economy is not as easy as it is made to appear by some who, with ulterior motives and much lobbying, want to capitalize on the pandemic. It may be a gradual change from an enhanced to a modified quarantine before the government is convinced that COVID-19 is contained, and the quarantine is lifted. Patience, self-discipline, and selflessness are key to keeping our nation afloat.