Back to GCQ

The NCR Plus bubble was placed under GCQ last May 15 based on the recommendations by NCR mayors and the IATF-EID. Indoor dining up to 20% capacity will be allowed and 50% for those with outdoor dining facilities. Cinemas, videoke, bars, and similar entertainment establishments with indoor facilities are not yet allowed to operate. Meetings, conferences, or exhibits are still not allowed. In other words, activities that take place outside the home or building will have more freedom but not at 100% capacity. If you want to know what you can and cannot do under this GCQ, just search the internet for information.

But PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar has some good advice. Do not be complacent. Practice the minimum health standards of wearing a face mask/face shield properly, sanitize hands and practice social distancing. The COVID-19 virus does not know the difference between ECQ, MECQ, GCQ, or any other classification. It only knows is whom it can infect. If the number of cases increases again we might just go back to a stricter quarantine over and over again. It is up to us especially since only a few percent of the country's population has been vaccinated. According to ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations, only 1.97% of the nation’s population has received a single dose of the vaccine as of May 14.

This is why Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is disappointed with the government's very slow rollout of vaccines to cities if the goal is to return to normal life. We know two million doses of AstraZeneca have arrived via COVAX last week. Half a million doses of Sinovac purchased by the government also arrived last April 22. So where are they?

In the United States, the Center for Disease Control has announced that those fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear a mask anywhere, indoors or outdoors. Americans rejoiced but some received the news with a bit of caution. The problem is one cannot tell who is fully vaccinated or not and knowing Americans, this will cause some problems with establishments that still require the wearing of masks for those not vaccinated. Personally, if an unvaccinated person refuses to wear a mask then he puts himself at risk of contracting COVID-19. Fully-vaccinated people enjoy the protection the vaccine offers. Just as Gen. Eleazar said, the virus doesn't care. It doesn't care whether you're a Republican or Democrat, anti-vaccine, anti-mask, or even whatever rights and freedoms you are entitled to. It only knows who is susceptible to infection.

The government hopes to attain herd immunity by November. That's 70 million people fully vaccinated. That's quite a tall order considering the slow rollout of vaccines and the current percentage of those who have received at least one dose. I hope they know what they're doing. Herd immunity would be very welcome. Being able to return to normalcy is everyone's wish.