After two years of life in slow motion, Filipinos have returned to school, churches and offices. The Manila correspondent of Straits Times recounts those first moments made of hesitation, “like when you test the temperature of water by just dipping your toe in it”.
We knew this was coming. For weeks, the number of new Covid-19 contaminations had stagnated below 600. Half of the hospital beds were empty, and every day, people were vaccinated by the thousands.
We were ready to live with the Covid-19! But when did March 1st finally arrive? [date à laquelle les principales restrictions, notamment en matière d’ouverture et de jauges des espaces publics, ont été levées], it still made us feel weird. There was a kind of hesitation, like when you test the temperature of the water by just dipping your toe in it.
It was strange to finally be able to shake hands with someone who wasn’t part of our household or hug them. You still felt a little apprehensive sitting shoulder to shoulder next to a stranger on a crowded bus or train.
But there was also a sense of cautious optimism and relief that, after two years of draconian restrictions and isolation, we would finally be able to move on. These first steps towards a new normal life carry a lot of emotion.
Covid is no longer a major health risk
According to Karl Kendrick Chua, the government’s chief economist, the Philippines’ economy, battered by the pandemic, could benefit from a recovery of up to 430 million dollars a week if the whole country returns to the level of alert 1. At present, almost half of the territory is still on alert level 2.
Level 1 is the lowest of the four levels of health restrictions in the Philippines. This is an “intermediate” phase, where Covid-19 is no longer considered a major health risk, but is not considered endemic either, like the flu. With the move to Alert Level 1, nearly 300,000 people are expected to resume activity in the second quarter, Chua adds.
The tourism sector could recover half of the 28 billion dollars lost during the year 2020, when the country largely confined itself and closed its borders to tourists.
Crowded restaurants
The famous island of Boracay already receives more than 50,000 Filipino and foreign visitors per month, compared to less than 2,000 a year ago. While
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Raul Dancel
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Founded in 1845, The Straits Times is the most widely read daily newspaper in the city-state. English-language newspaper of reference in Southeast Asia, it adopts positions close to the Singaporean government but offers good analyzes on all countries
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