Too soon for MGCQ

With only 3.1% of the entire population being tested as of September 28, would you say with certainty that Metro Manila is ready to shift to Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ)? To simply slap on a mask and face shield then return to our daily lives is a short-sighted solution to better plans that can be made. Social distancing and mass testing should be prioritized over bringing back work and school at full capacity.

According to an article by the Philippine Star, University of the Philippines experts have warned that physically reopening schools, even if delayed to August or September, would hasten the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Their exposure in cramped classrooms and public transportation increases the risk tenfold of students possibly bringing the virus home and infecting the more vulnerable members of their families.

Staying one seat apart shouldn’t be the only protocol we risk the safety of commuting students and employees on. There’s a reason the World Health Organization advises for the public to stay 6 feet away from each other.

I propose some temporary but safer solutions. Businesses could operate on different days of the week. Opening selected stores from Monday to Wednesday, then others from Wednesday to Friday has the benefit of making sales while lessening the people entering stores at a given time.

The 2020 National Budget lists the Department of National Defense funded for PhP192.1 billion and the Philippine National Police at PhP187.3 billion compared to the Department of Health (DOH) with a smaller budget of PhP175.9 billion. With almost Php 9 trillion in debt, it times we reassess our priorities. Perhaps there are some departments that can allocate a small portion of their budget to DOH and other medical supplies like testing kits and disinfectants.

The minor-only curfew should be further observed as additional months into quarantine have seen an increase of persons on the streets including children despite being advised to stay home.

Tycoon Teresita Sy-Coson advised that restarting the economy will save jobs and help the Philippines bounce back from a 16.5% GDP drop. However, the benefit of the MGCQ that appears is but a disappearing pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Why settle for that when we can strike real gold with proper curbing of the virus?