(Part of an ongoing account
started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our
government’s response has affected our lives.)
I
didn’t write yesterday. I was too stressed out waiting for the President to make an announcement about what happens after April 30, which is when the ECQ is scheduled to end. He was supposed to go on air at 6 p.m., but surprise, surprise --- it didn't happen.
Still, that was a record for me - 41 consecutive days of writing
about life under the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) imposed over Luzon.
I realize now that I have it wrong. I started writing what has become a sort of journal because I did not want to
forget the radical shift in our lives as caused by the coronavirus disease of
2019 (COVID-19).
In hindsight, I was stupid to think that we could go back to our lives after an unspecified length of time. Maybe I should start writing about life BEFORE March 15, because it looks like this day-to-day existence is what we can look forward to, as long as there is no vaccine against COVID-19.
Broadcast
institutions aired this morning a recorded announcement of the President
which effectively extends the ECQ in high-risk areas like Metro Manila to May
15, 2020. Other areas too numerous to mention are included.
The moderate-
and low-risk areas are luckier. Their quarantine status has been downgraded to
General Community Quarantine (GCQ) effective May 1, 2020, pending more detailed guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the management of emerging infectious diseases.
How
different is GCQ from ECQ?
For
GCQ areas, movement will no longer be restricted to one person per household. Those
with ages 21 to 59 will be allowed to move around as long as they have a face
mask, an ID and observe social distancing.
Restricted
mall opening covering non-leisure shops will be allowed as long as they do the
mandatory temperature check, restrict entry to those with face masks and
provide alcohol for disinfection. This includes supermarkets, drugstores,
banks, laundry service shops, restaurants (for takeout or delivery only) and
hardware stores.
Priority
and essential construction projects will be allowed to resume, subject to
minimum health standards, physical distancing and barracks for workers. Public
transportation will operate at reduced capacity. Local government units (LGUs)
will enforce curfew at night for non-workers.
Industries
are categorized to determine the level of workforce that will be allowed to
work:
- Category 1 (100% workforce) includes agriculture, fisheries and forestry, food manufacturing and supply chain, food retail (supermarkets, restaurants for delivery and take out only), health care (hospitals, clinics and drugstores), logistics, water, energy, Internet, telecommunications and media.
- Category 2 (50-100% workforce allowed) covers other manufacturing (electronics, exports), e-commerce and delivery for essential and non-essential items, repair and maintenance services, housing and office services
- Category 3 (50% workforce on-site; 50% work from home) includes Financial services, BPO, other non-leisure services and wholesale and retail trade.
There
were more guidelines but I ran out of steam. Besides, President Duterte started getting angry, threatening to enforce martial law and to kill all members of the New People's Army in the two years he has left as president.
He also started calling critic and Senator Antonio Trillanes names before turning melancholic about the burden
he bears as president. I got very distracted.
Hubby
asks me why I am taking note of the less stringent guidelines under GCQ. He
reminds me that we are under ECQ. This means that there is no change for us. We
will only know if we have finally satisfied all of the parameters to be
re-classified as under GCQ come May 16, 2020.
I am
an optimist. What can I say?
DoH
update: As of 4 p.m. of April 24, 2020, the Philippines has reported 7,192 confirmed
corona virus cases, including 762 recoveries and 477 deaths.
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