METRO Manila is now under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) status effective this day. This shift, from a strict to an eased lockdown emanated from the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and is being implemented by the President amid the still extant infection of the Covid-19.
We can surmise that this shift was prompted by the freezing of economic activities that leads to the hunger of the many and the stalling of industries and commercial establishments. To date, a lot of entities which provide goods and services have ceased operations. Some though are opening this day.
Public utility vehicles are resuming their operations except for the lowly conventional jeepneys. Some bus companies shall be allowed on limited routes and numbers. Trains in Metro Manila are going back to their tracks with limited number of passengers however.
With the resumption of the operations of some offices and businesses in Metro Manila, we expect chaos as we slowly return to the way we were with a number of adjustments that lead us to the new normal.
As we are still on a honeymoon period in terms of returning back to business, we need to adapt to the new norms and measures the government is implementing in the continuous fight against the deadly virus. The battle is still on as we try desperately to flatten the curve of the number of cases in the country.
We are fortunate that in the provinces, there is the slowing down of the number of people getting infected unlike in Metro Manila where the curve still rises. The country is considerably lucky though as other countries continue to lose their citizens because of Covid-19 deaths.
With the "opening" of Metro Manila due to the shift from the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to GCQ, we see the roads and streets to be filled with vehicles with people longing to return to their work. It's been a couple of months that their work activities have ceased while trying to make both ends meet at the mercy of dole-outs from government and private entities sharing distributing free food packs or ayuda.
Expressway companies are anticipating the influx of motorists who shall be going back to the capital region after to ECQ-GCQ shift. It's been a while that the lanes of these expressways experienced less travelers.
Traffic congestion is the first to be expected to be observed. Even if jeepneys, dubbed as the "kings of the road" won't be filling yet our highways and streets, the number of private cars can cause congestion. After the lockdown comes the exodus.
We likewise expect the queuing of people going into establishments while we are still on the social distancing mode. We should remember that the virus is still there despite the easing out of the lockdown. Recurrence is still the dreaded word we want to avoid.
For the past months of the lockdown, we should have learned our lessons. We should feel lucky that we are still alive despite the great number of deaths all over the world. We should appreciate life now as many are still on their battle against the virus.
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