Six months into the health pandemic and seeing how COVID-19 turned our world upside down, we expect people to be wary of contracting the virus. We have not yet flattened the curve, as reports of positive cases trickle daily but we are not blind to the fact that we can stop the spread of the disease. Repeatedly, from the day we learned that the virus has reached our shores, we were cautioned to practice health protocols: washing of hands with soap and water; wearing face masks, and; social distancing.
Still, we defy these protocols especially on social distancing. We’ve heard of cases that were traced to people gathering for a celebration and yet we think this won’t happen to us when we meet friends and relatives. Knowing that the FM passes have been lifted and people can now go out to the malls, we observe many who start to pick up where they left off, with that cavalier attitude we can only describe as indifference.
With some of the business trying to move forward and bringing its workers back, we expect public transportation to be brisk once again. Wearing face shields and face masks, plus the plastic sheets ensuring distance between passengers may be very uncomfortable but we believe it can do the job of stopping transmission.
The lifting of the FM passes does not mean we are free to go out anytime we want. The city government has underlined this by reverting their workday to three times a week and by providing uniforms to employees with the message “Stay Home.” This is still the best way to keep ourselves safe from the unseen attacker.
We won’t get tired of repeating this: Stay at home whenever possible. We now live in a world pared down to what is most essential to survive.
