Quarantine Anniversary

The 15th day of March 2021 marks the quarantine anniversary in the counMetro Manila
and other provinces were placed under community quarantine in an effort to prevent the
coronavirus from spreading. We didn’t expect that it would last a year and our country will have
the longest period of lockdown among countries worldwide. Numerous changes happened not
just with the everyday living of the Filipino people but with the rules and regulations launched by
the government as the solution to this current situation. Does it really solve the problem? Or it
just adds to it?

In the first week of quarantine, The Philippine Congress passed the Republic Act 11469
– also known as “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act” which gives the President emergency powers
to address the COVID-19 crisis. We hoped that this would be the solution for the pandemic to
be eradicated by providing mass vaccination and more facilities involving health related cases
but instead, quarantine implementation was administered by the Inter-Agency Task Force and
spearheaded by the armed forces and the police who put up curfew and regular checkpoints
across the Luzon region, including Metro Manila. A pass system issued by local communities,
ensuring that only essential workers were allowed to move about for limited reasons.

Imposed lockdowns, curfews, wearing of face masks and face shields, limiting the
number of people in establishments, prohibiting mass gatherings are just few of those rules and
regulations imposed by the government that should be followed by individuals in avoiding the
spreading of virus but as we can see the people behind the implementation are the ones who
disobey these. A responsible official should be a role model to humanity-- following rules that
are imposed to solve the problem in times like this.

Recently, as the Department of Health (DOH) reported 10,016 additional COVID-19

cases on Monday—the highest single-day tally so far—bringing the total cases in the country to
731,894, the Department of Health recommended a week-long extension of the enhanced
community quarantine in the “NCR Plus” bubble covering Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna,
and Bulacan. Meanwhile, The government said to consider extending the EQC in the NCR Plus
bubble if COVID-19 cases in these areas continue to see a rapid increase in the covid cases. As
of this writing, DOH reported the highest single day tally so far with 15, 310 covid cases as of
4pm today.

It’s been more than a year since the quarantine was imposed, CoVid-19 vaccines are
now available here in the country and vaccinations have already started, with medical workers,
and other frontliners getting the priority. It will take some time before all Filipinos get vaccinated
and challenges in storage and distribution will surely arise. Adds to that is the probability of the
effectiveness of vaccinations in the country. Meanwhile, aside from preventing the economy in
degenerating further, we also need to remain vigilant as the number of coronavirus cases is
surging again.

On the other hand, various private sectors and non-government organizations initiated
free antigen swab tests together with the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in communities
where coronavirus transmissions were high. A free mobile testing program called “Swab Cab”
was launched by the OVP on Saturday with the help of its private partners which seek to
strengthen the government’s COVID-19 testing program. Robredo’s office partnered with
Malabon City government, UBE Express and Kaya Natin Movement for the project that made
the Swab Cab possible, in which the same bus line they worked with for their free shuttle
service for front liners. Antigens used in the swab cab had been approved by FDA and
registered a high efficacy rate. The plan would help local governments identify cases as early as
possible to prevent localized transmissions and cases from stacking up.

We aim for the solutions which are aligned to the needs during this pandemic, not just
those which can be imposed based on what is wanted. It’s possible not to have a 2nd
quarantine anniversary, isn’t it?