Security issues

Because the pandemic has gone on for as long as it has and is still going, we are forced to be extra careful at all times as we protect ourselves and focus on our health and safety. While we may have hoped for a better community response at the beginning, the past several months have proven that this may not be solved at a community level and will require us all to be responsible for ourselves at an individual level.

This means each of us must make a conscious effort to ensure we follow heightened safety protocols at all times. We need to stay home whenever possible, wear the right masks (double mask is recommended), wash our hands, use alcohol and sanitizer religiously, and do our part to keep ourselves safe.

These aren’t new guidelines. I would like to think that by now we are all aware of what we should be doing. However, it bears repeating because there are still quite a few people that don’t follow the protocols. There are still those who wear masks as a chin strap, congregate in big groups, and refuse to take the situation seriously.

We can no longer afford to pretend that what is happening isn’t happening to us all. The numbers are increasing and we’re firmly within the 18,000 to 22,000 range of new cases daily. The hospitals are overwhelmed and many who need medical care can’t get it because of COVID overflow. That, plus all of our doctors and healthcare frontliners are already dangerously at the end of their ropes.

We can’t just solely rely on the government and government agencies to tell us when and where it’s safe. A big security concern for many is the downgrading of the quarantine in Metro Manila. Some people seem to think that because we are out of ECQ that means it’s safe to go out again. That is not the case.

We need to understand that the quarantine status was changed not because things are improving or safe again, but because economically the country, businesses, and day-wage workers simply can’t afford ECQ anymore. We downgraded to give people a chance to earn a living not so that we could have birthday parties or dinners out again.

In general, it’s becoming more and more challenging to ensure everyone’s safety and security issues are real. Despite heightened levels of quarantine, the lack of implementation capacity, and black and white IRR makes it an ongoing issue. At present, what we know is that the new alert levels allow certain businesses to resume at limited capacities and these are supposed to be paired with granular lockdowns.

For those that are unclear as to what that means it means that NCR is now under Alert Level 4. This means that cases remain high and hospitals remain full, but businesses like dining, hair salon, nail spas, and religious gatherings are allowed at 30 percent capacity outdoors and 10 percent capacity indoors for fully vaccinated. These numbers might change if Alert Levels are changed moving forward.

While on paper that may sound like it makes sense, how is this going to be successfully and safely implemented? Businesses in the malls may be easier to monitor, but for enterprises and stand-alone locations, it’s just basically a “trust” situation I assume? Unless the government specifically assigns barangay personnel or police to monitor compliance, how do they know the protocols are actually being followed?

Again, it all boils down to being responsible for ourselves and for the people around us. When the pandemic began over a year ago there were so many who said that the only way out would be a unified community response. Now that we are over a year and a half into it, it looks like they are right. Unless everyone commits to doing their part, we won’t make it out the other side.

Let’s all focus on how we can improve the situation moving forward. If we all work together, we can push for positive changes in the months ahead.

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If there is anything that should inspire us to work harder to get to a safer place, it’s the thought that the ones who are suffering the most with this isolation and uncertainty are the kids. It’s going to be two years of them being inside, unable to see friends and family, and struggling with the adjustments to online schooling.

While the Department of Education has been actively trying to study the possibility of in-person school, the reality is that we just aren’t there yet, and it doesn’t look like this is going to happen any time soon. We have to expect that online school is going to remain the norm for the rest of this year, and maybe even next if big changes don’t happen.

This is especially true for younger grade school children who may still not be viable candidates for pediatric vaccination. Currently, it is being studied if vaccines for 12 and above will be approved, and while that means that older kids might be able to get the jab, it doesn’t guarantee their safety in the face of these far more aggressive COVID variants. Kids are no longer as safe as they seemed to be during the original outbreak.

We need to think of their safety as we proceed with various methods of study. While online studying may not be ideal, it’s still the safest option. What we need now is to find ways to make technology more accessible to more families, especially underprivileged students in far-flung areas. While in-person is still not an option, fixing infrastructure and accessibility has to be the next big priority.

With the technological advancements available now, there is no excuse for us not to be able to share solutions that will help more students get online. We need to prioritize what matters.