Nearly two years of being in the pandemic mode, calls are now being made for a shift to Alert Level 1, particularly in the National Capital Region, as vital indicators point to a definite decline in COVID-19 infections. Buoyed by the 7.7 percent GDP growth posted in the last quarter of the year, the business sector is eyeing a further de-escalation of restrictions in order that the shift could be made “from crisis mode to recovery mode,” says Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose ‘Joey’ Concepcion III.
OCTA Research forecasts that new infections would drop to the range of 1,000 to 2,000 cases daily by end-February. Health care utilization rate is low and decreasing. ICU beds are being utilized only at 39 percent nationwide; isolation beds, 34 percent. In Metro Manila, the comparative levels are even lower at 31 percent and 28 percent, respectively. The presidential spokesperson has cited these vital indicators as the “benchmark norms” being used by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in determining the appropriate alert levels to be enforced in the country’s various regions.
Inbound travel to the country by fully vaccinated persons from 157 visa-free countries is now permitted, thereby boosting the travel and tourism sector that was among the hardest-hit by the imposition of seesawing quarantine and lockdown schemes over the past 23 months.
Attainment of high vaccination rates in high-density regions like the NCR has increased the level of population protection. As early as the first week of January, around 10.4 million persons or 106 percent had been vaccinated in Metro Manila. Pediatric vaccination of children and youth from five to 17 years old has been rolled out extensively. More than 60 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated and the end-goal of inoculating 70 percent of the target populations appears attainable before the May elections.
Given all of the foregoing auspicious indicators, the term “new normal” is now being suggested in lieu of Alert Level 1.
“New normal” is definitely not equivalent to “business as usual.” The novel coronavirus pandemic has triggered a massive disruption and transformation of the business landscape. Traditional concepts of the nature of work and the demands of the workplace have been altered and replaced by new business models. Working from home and from digital platforms has become more commonplace.
Aversion to COVID-19 continues to influence the conduct of election campaigns that are now gradually building up in intensity as candidates for nationally elected positions (president, vice president, senators and party list) have begun barnstorming in the cities and the countryside. Concerned citizens and poll watch groups are prodding the Commission on Elections to ensure that the infrastructure and logistics for national and local elections would be adequate as this is the first time that national and local elections are being conducted amid the aftershocks of a global pandemic.
The “new normal” should also bring about a recovery that “builds back better” by ensuring prosperity for the longer term.