This week will mark a year since the first lockdowns were implemented in the entire Luzon province due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I could still remember those frantic crowds at major supermarkets in Makati trying to stock up on food, alcohol, tissue, multivitamins and other basic goods.
Alcohol and face masks (already in short supply due to the eruption of Taal Volcano a month before) became scarce commodities, with most stores limiting purchases to two one-litre bottles.
At the time, I lived in San Pedro City but work in Makati City. I had to admit, I myself was drawn to the hysteria and immediately rushed to SM Makati on my way home to get some goods myself.
At the time, crowding was still allowed inside trains and buses, but the unease and the stress of what might be a full-blown pandemic was already in the faces of people on their way home.
Rumors were already rife that President Rodrigo Duterte might impose a lockdown due to the sudden spike of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.
And as I had my hair cut that night of March 13 (Friday the 13th, incidentally), the President finally dropped the bombshell: all of Luzon will be placed under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
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One year on, I had already began detecting signs that many Lagunenses seem to have moved on and that life was, for them, already returning to the old normal.
People don’t even bother wearing their face masks and face shields in public places. Sure, I am not really confident about face shields – after all, it blinds me, especially when crossing the road at night, but not wearing face masks anymore? That’s where I draw the line.
Traditional jeepneys and some tricycles don’t even implement social distancing. Plastic dividers are merely short pieces of plastic that cover the upper part of the body, and in some cases, they’ve been folded up or ripped off. Some jeepneys and tricycles have even gone back to full capacity. (Which is why I now prefer to ride up front, beside the driver; at least I know there’ll be some distance between me and the other passengers.)
Crowds are once again becoming a common sight, especially at restaurants, groceries and public places. This seems to be especially true when meeting families or close friends. The thinking seems to be, “Pamilya ko naman iyan, bakit namin kailangang mag-social distancing?”
No wonder the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has to step in and ban even “public displays of affection” (PDA) in an effort to control the virus.
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I know I’m sounding like a broken record here. I’ve been saying this again, and again, and yet again: the virus is still there. There is no room for complacency.
Even as the vaccines have started to roll out, COVID-19 cases are still on the rise. And the worrying trend is that the new variants, while “less deadly,” are more transmissible (mas nakakahawa). Whole families are now being infected in some areas.
We can’t afford to go back to that “strict quarantine” we had experienced a year ago. We must still ensure that the minimum health protocols are followed.