Take risk or play safe?

The warning’s dire but nobody seems to care anymore.

Or maybe until a second wave of COVID-19 gives us the jolt, we would never appreciate the little victories we had against the coronavirus pandemic.

Everything’s pointed toward a return to normality.

Car volumes are back, stranded passengers on bad days, the factories are humming again.

Things that drive the economy are sure in gear as the government could no longer cope with the spending it has no reserved money for.

It has a become a worldwide trend, no thanks to capitalism, which fuels all economies, that factories have long began burning coal even with no assurance yet of a vaccine to counter this deadly virus.

Consumerism is driving shops to reopen. Coupled with the peoples’ desire to free themselves from quarantine shackles, we now have a surefire formula for a big dip. If we can’t help it.

It’s not just the government which is hastening the reopening of the economy. Even the labor groups are restless.

The unions are demanding their members to be allowed to work again.

These demands could not be met if the restrictions stay.

Not easily. Not now.

We still do not have enough means of transportation to handle the influx of people going back to the roads.

Support services have yet to reopen. Not all restaurants can serve their clients in full capacity.

Reopening needs a recalculation of efforts and actions.

But we need to consult with the health experts first.

We have yet to see a drop in cases. The fact is, the numbers have plateaued. And that is not exactly good news.

This month has seen the daily number of COVID-19 cases pegged at 2,000 to 3,000.

The total number of local cases has breached 359,000. The local graph, however, looks flat in the last 60 days. Again, small victories.

The last month has seen the slow reopening of tourism.

Antigen testing is being looked at as an alternative to the gold standard.

It’s good news to the shop owners, keepers and workers. But it’s not good news to our health experts and the frontline health workers.

The age limit to persons who can now go out of their houses to attend to chores has also been adjusted.

Now, the government is eyeing to increase public transport capacity to accommodate the working public. Again, it’s not good news to our health experts and the frontline health workers. But how long could we wait?

Areas presently under the general community quarantine (GCQ) are waiting for a shift to a modified general community quarantine by

“Reopening needs a recalculation of efforts and actions. But we need to consult with the health experts first.

next month.

Yes, we are taking the risk.

Eight months of strict lockdowns no longer seem bearable to the majority.

The Christmas season is also approaching. It’s the best stretch for businesses to make money.

Small entrepreneurs are also looking at the season to rebound.

Without a vaccine yet, masks and face shields will be our only weapons to save ourselves. If we could.

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Benjamin Co warned that the number of cases has not been declining, but it need not raise undue alarm.

“We’ve plateaued at 2,500. But if you look at the data (the numbers are big) because we still have a lot of backlog,” he said.

Co, however, would rather have the GCQ extended.

“We’ve lived with this already. What’s a few more months than wasting the seven months? That’s my point,” he added.

That’s a good point, indeed.

But the bets are on the reopening of economy.

Our safety’s in our own hands.

“We’ve lived with this already. What’s a few more months than wasting the seven months? That’s my point.