Overcoming a feat

After one month and a half of strict quarantine measures, Cebu City has finally graduated to General Community Quarantine. More industries are allowed open and public transportation will be back. This means more movement of people who have been detained inside their homes for the past weeks. I can only imagine their exhaustion of the many days not allowed to go out. Whenever they need to go out, they will be subject to strict scrutiny by policemen in combat uniform. What a way to fight off a virus – through guns and show of force.

To some extent, it has become effective because it has deterred residents from non-essential movement outside their homes. It is a hassle to deal with checkpoints after every few meters just to get the barest necessities. If the lockdown has translated to a decrease in the spike of new cases in the city, then maybe it was indeed effective, although very damaging to many especially those who are trying to earn a living.

I’d like to think that the movement to GCQ is a feat, albeit a challenge to maintain the current status of the city. I know it’s hard not being able to do so many things the city used to offer. For one, I have missed the bustle of the jeepneys that go around the downtown. I also miss going to the malls and the cafés in the uptown area and the mountain barangays.

This shows that when we put many minds together, collaborate, and act as one then we can achieve goals. Had we done this earlier, then we might also be in a position where we are nearing the new normal. Although the president has refused to move on to this and just wait for the vaccines, other people’s rumbling stomachs just cannot wait.

While it is already a fact that we cannot go back to the way our lives were, we can always go about it to adjust but not forgetting basic protocols while earning money. In this time of the pandemic, everybody has to be on survival mode. Even the richest individuals have to tighten their belts and keep only those workers fit for the job.

The next two weeks Cebu City will remain under observation period if the quarantine status will remain. For sure, our officials have learned a lot in the past weeks with national officials’ intervention. I have witnessed how they work day and night for the emergency operations center to arrive at where it is today. We need officials who are transparent in their moves while we are battling this pandemic.

The government has used the slogan “we heal as one” in this pandemic. I think we should take this to heart and follow all minimum safety protocols so the horrifying experience of going back to the strictest quarantine status will not be repeated.