It’s been two years since the Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic. No country was spared from its ill effects—increasing number of cases, lockdowns, loss of lives and livelihood, among others.
But now, some nations, including the Philippines, are starting to see some semblance of normalcy as the Covid-19 situation continues to improve.
Metro Manila was first put under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on March 15, 2020 and two days later—March 17, the Philippine government decided to implement the said strictest quarantine level in the entire island of Luzon in order to curb the rising number of infections then.
“When the lockdown was enforced two years ago, I felt that it's going to be difficult for most of the Filipinos because we were not used to that. It was scary at first knowing that our movements would be very limited,” said Renz Kenneth De Guzman, 26, a resident of Meycauayan in Bulacan.
“During that time, the company that I was working for temporarily had to halt its operations. As a result, I was greatly affected and had to go back home,” he added.
Under the ECQ, Filipinos were required to strictly stay at home. People would only be allowed to go out to access basic necessities such as buying food and medicine. Public transportation was suspended, businesses considered as non-essential were closed, and on-campus classes were suspended. Most work were also suspended while some operated in a skeletal workforce or have implemented a work-from-home arrangement.
“As a healthcare worker, I was one of those people who got affected by the pandemic and lockdown that happened two years ago. The area of my life that really affected me so much was my job,” said Jennifer Orbigo, 26, a resident of Meycauyan in Bulacan.
“It was much harder to continue working with a lot of restrictions, a lot of worries for myself and my family that I ended up having to stop working for a while,” she added.
Current situation
At present, the Philippines is starting to bounce back from that debacle. The daily average number of cases is now down to 590 as compared to over a thousand infections reported months before.
The total number of confirmed cases as of March 14 stood at 3,671,293. Based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Covid-19 dashboard, the Philippines ranked 26th in terms of countries with the most number of recorded cases. Of this total, only 46,256 remain active or people who are still sick with Covid-19.
Majority of Covid-19 patients in the Philippines have recovered—as the cumulative tally now at 3,567,412 while 57,625 patients died as of March 14. The bed utilization of intensive care units (ICU) dedicated for Covid-19 patients was at 19.6 percent which is categorized as low-risk.
The low number of Covid-19 cases can be attributed to the country’s high vaccination rate. As of March 13, a total of 64,540,840 Filipinos were already fully vaccinated against the viral illness. The government is targeting to fully vaccinate 70 million individuals by the end of March, the Department of Health (DOH) previously said. Also, 11,160,537 individuals have already received their booster shots.
Last Feb. 10, the Philippines also started to open its borders to foreign nationals who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. During the first 10 days since opening the country’s borders, the Department of Tourism (DOT) recorded a total of 21,974 inbound tourist arrivals in different airports in the Philippines. "These are composed of 10,074 balikbayans and 11,900 foreign tourists who arrived" from Feb. 10 to 19, the DOT said.
In November 2021, the government allowed limited face-to-face classes in some schools. As of March 11, 2022, a total of 6,122 schools are already holding limited face-to-face classes in areas classified as low-risk, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
The decline in Covid-19 infections was evident as the Philippines was already at the “minimal risk-case classification,” said the DOH last March 7. Forty-eight areas, including the National Capital Region, will be under Alert Level 1 from March 16 to 31, as announced by Malacanang Acting Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar on Tuesday, March 15.
Under the Alert Level 1, “there are no specific activities that will be prohibited. However, participation in activities in selected venues will require fully vaccinated status,” the DOH said. Establishments and public transportation can operate in maximum capacity. The public should still follow the minimum public health standards, especially the wearing of face masks.
“Now, things are starting to get better and everything is slowly going back to normal. I was very grateful that it was one of the life challenges that I overcame and made me much mindful about our lives,” said Orbigo.
“Now that the situation is becoming better compared to before, I am delighted about the things that I can accomplish and achieve outside our home without thinking of any restrictions,” said De Guzman.