Traffic jams back in Manila as restrictions ease

MANILA. People walk as traffic builds up as the government places the capital on the lowest rung of a five-step pandemic alert system on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Quezon City, Philippines. (AP)

TRAFFIC jams and outdoor crowds are back in the Philippine capital and 38 other cities and provinces Tuesday, March 1, 2022, after officials allowed businesses and public transport, including shopping malls, movie houses and restaurants, to operate at full capacity as Covid-19 cases continued to drop with more vaccinations, officials said.

In a bid to further boost the pandemic-battered economy, authorities placed metropolitan Manila and 38 other regions under the lowest rung of a five-step pandemic alert system from Tuesday, March 1, to March 15 and lifted most health restrictions, but still required the full vaccination of residents 18 and older against the coronavirus and the wearing of face masks outdoors and in indoor establishments.

Social distancing is no longer required in Manila and the other specified areas, restaurants can now remove plastic barriers on tables, and public gatherings — such as birthday parties, weddings, sport events and family reunions — can fully resume. All government employees have been ordered to return to office for work.

“Now everything is open,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said. “We’re happy seeing the traffic again, it means there’s really economic activity and people are going out.”

The Philippines imposed one of the longest lockdowns and police-enforced quarantines two years ago when successive Covid-19 outbreaks hit and sparked the worst economic recession in 2020 and pushed unemployment and hunger to record levels.

Economic growth has resumed since then and could return to pre-pandemic levels this year unless external turbulence like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine worsens, Lopez said.

Daily Covid-19 cases dropped from over 37,000 during the most recent peak in January to below 1,000. The 951 cases reported Monday bring the total number of confirmed infections to more than 3.6 million with 56,451 deaths, the second-highest totals in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. (AP)

As COVID-19 infections decline, de-escalation of alert levels and easing of restrictions imperative

Manila Bulletin EDITORIAL

After nearly a month of severe restrictions, there is ample basis for a more hopeful scenario that would enable the government’s anti-pandemic task force to consider easing health and safety protocols to “pre-Omicron” levels.

Based on internationally-developed COVID Act Now indicators used by OCTA Research Group, Metro Manila — the epicenter of the “severe outbreak” since the start of the year — is now classified at “moderate risk” from a “high risk” due to the steady decline of COVID infections in the capital region.

An even more optimistic scenario is a further de-escalation to Alert Level 2 sometime in early February, if the rapidly declining benchmark indicators would justify this.

Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Jose ‘Joey’ Concepcion III has spearheaded the private sector’s thinking-through process. This would enable business and industry — as well as the citizenry in general — to make the necessary adjustments for resuming a more energetic pace that would be helpful to the country’s recovery on three fronts: health, the economy, and in learning and education.

Enforcement of a three-day quarantine for the fully vaccinated, which was approved and implemented prior to Omicron has been proposed. Home quarantine for fully vaccinated individuals has also been suggested in lieu of the facility-based quarantine.

Granting more mobility and exemption from mandatory testing for on-site workers should further incentivize vaccinations. In contrast, the unvaccinated will still have to undergo the more stringent quarantine and testing protocols. In particular, there is a “No vax, no ride” policy being enforced in public transportation that restricts the movement of unvaccinated individuals. Unvaccinated workers who have been exempted from the strict enforcement of this policy have been given only until Feb. 25 to get them vaccinated.

Fr. Nicanor Austriaco of OCTA Rsearch, who is also a doctor in molecular biology has expressed the view that the Philippines should follow Thailand’s “test-and-go” system where arriving passengers only need to spend one night in a hotel while they await their COVID-19 test results. He said that by the end of February, the National Capital Region (NCR) and the rest of the country will have moved past the Omicron wave, paving the way for the government to re-examine its travel and mobility protocols.

On the educational front, the easing of restrictions would enable more students to have increased opportunities for face-to-face classes. Prolonged school shutdowns aggravate serious deficits in the development of young learners’ basic skills and aptitudes.

Observing the sluggish pace of economic recovery in 2021 due to the on-and-off quarantine restrictions, Concepcion said: “The Philippines’ economic health is now a serious issue. Whatever we decide now will impact the country’s economy for years to come.”