"We are all at risk, especially since we are under a less stringent quarantine."
"We are all at risk, especially since we are under a less stringent quarantine."
We have been talking about this COVID-19 pandemic for more than three months now. We have transitioned from enhanced community quarantine into modified community quarantine, and now to a more relaxed general community quarantine (GCQ). The national government slowly lifted strict prohibitions on the movement of the people and continued the GCQ to help our ailing economy. Now we ask: Is this worth the trade off?
The IATF has issued guidelines on the resumption of dine-in services at 30-percent capacity in restaurants in Metro Manila under the prevailing general community quarantine. Business establishments, factories, and other enterprises have also been given a go-signal to resume operations at a reduced capacity in an effort to bring back jobs, cut losses, revive economic productivity, and ensure availability of essential goods and services. Private and public offices are allowed to resume physical work while also providing alternative work arrangements. Public transportation has also been partly restored with physical distancing measures in place. Malls and other commercial establishments reopen. More people can now go out as quarantine passes are no longer required.
However, while the government assures us of the continuation of strict physical distancing, routine temperature checks, health assessment, and standard COVID-19 respiratory precautions amid the GCQ, there remains the risk for community transmission in the country. Early this week, the Philippine General Hospital reportedly confirmed the rise in the number of COVID-19 patient admissions for the past weeks but attributed it to the increase in COVID-19 testing. Select barangays in Metro Manila are put in lockdown due to an observed community transmission. A team of professors from the University of the Philippines noted that the average new COVID-19 cases per day rose to 549 in the first week of GCQ in the National Capital Region. While reports show that the number of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila generally decreased, Central Visayas reported a spike in their number of cases, particularly in Cebu, Bohol, and Negros Oriental. Cebu City has been placed again under enhanced community quarantine effective this week until the end of June to contain transmission.
Once more, we are standing at a crossroads with the continuation of the quarantine. The woes of the business sector are understandably valid. Without trade, there is no revenue. According to reports, the National Economic and Development Authority suggests the immediate reduction of corporate income tax and the Department of Finance is preparing a P160-billion stimulus package. The Bureau of Internal Revenue, on the other hand, issued extension of deadlines for various tax filing, submission, and payment.
Perhaps, what the national government could have done is to come up with a tax break for businesses that are operational in this pandemic to help both employers and employees recover from the losses they incurred during the stringent quarantine. The revenue loss and deficits from this could be cushioned by borrowings by the government. At present, we have already received loans and financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and USAID, among others. These amounts should be used to further strengthen the government pandemic response and cover for the supposed revenues this year while we implement or restore stricter measures against COVID-19 transmission.
Ultimately, what we need to do is to minimize infection until such time that vaccines become available. Although unfavorable and disliked by many, returning to an enhanced community quarantine may be a necessary and inevitable move to curb disease transmission.
While the government does its part, let us also be mindful of the fact that the threat of COVID-19 infection still exists. We are all at risk, especially since we are under a less stringent quarantine. Let us do our part by limiting our movement and activities to only those essential to our survival. Let us strictly comply with quarantine restrictions, public health precautions, and mandatory reporting of symptoms and exposure. Let us constantly remind ourselves of the gravity of this crisis—the precious lives lost, patients in critical conditions, thousands of active cases nationwide, and the possibility of untested asymptomatic COVID-19 cases.
Our survival and victory against COVID-19 lie in the hands of one another.