The NCR and 38 other areas including the province of Cagayan are already under alert

1 of COVID-19 restrictions and it has started last March 1 and will last until March 15. And this
means establishments and public transportation are allowed to be fully operational under these
areas. And as an NSTP student, I see this as an opportunity for me, and for a lot of Cagayanos
and even Filipinos, in general, who are under alert level 1, to relive whatever they have missed
due to this pandemic. We should indeed prioritize public health, but in today’s situation, where
many are suffering from hunger and unemployment, I think reviving the Philippine economy
should be the main goal of the government right now. Considering the latest Covid-19 positivity
rate of the Philippines which is 3.9%, way lower than the 9.6 % last month, it is now a great
opportunity for the government to gradually open its economy, especially the tourism and
business sector. And the first step for this is to put more areas under fewer restrictions. If we
were to argue about public health, I would remain on my stand that putting areas under alert
level 1 would be more beneficial to the public, in a lot of aspects, than putting hard lockdowns
and quarantines just to prioritize public health. More than 65.7% of the total population of the
Philippines is already fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. And with this number, I am
confident that public health is no longer a big issue in lifting some of the COVID-19 restrictions.
On my part, this gave me the advantage to access a better quality of education since under
Alert level 1, limited face-to-face classes are already allowed. To conclude, there is still a risk of
putting areas under alert 1, but doing it could also help a lot of Filipinos in making their life better
after this pandemic drag them down.