The panic is real

With President Rodrigo Duterte personally declaring the whole Metro Manila under community quarantine – euphemism for ‘lockdown’ – the real panic begins.

With the careful use of subtle words, the President did not want to raise panic. Minutes after the declaration, panic-buying ensued late into the night.

The President’s lieutenants valiantly tried to interpret the lockdown directive by assuaging any fears in the implementation.

The PNP-NCR said just hours before the lockdown declaration that there is no lockdown.

Based on explanations by Cabinet secretaries and the police on how the lockdown will be implemented, the lockdown’s goals will be defeated.

Land travel to and from Metro Manila will just be regulated, not totally banned. Ban on air travel at the NAIA is just for domestic flights. International flights remain normal. Actually, flights from China continue to arrive at NAIA. International flights will also be allowed at other international airports such as Clark, Cebu and Davao.

City and province lockdowns are also not absolute. 

Policemen and soldiers are checkpoints will have difficulty identifying those who should not be allowed to travel. They will emerge as glorified security guards, armed with thermal scanners and alcohol.

Meanwhile, in the global scene, days after WHO’s declaration of a COVID-19 pandemic, the number of infected Chinese seem to be tapering off.

But effects of the pandemic on business are spreading across various sectors not just on financial and capital markets.

The business slump seem to center on travel and tourism with allied industries reeling from the economic slowdown.

Oil markets have stumbled sharply, lower even than during the two Gulf Wars in the 1990s.

Measures to offset these effects are getting creative in the face of massive layoffs and declining revenues.

The US President just announced a sweeping travel ban to and from the whole of Europe except for the United Kingdom, in contrast to his earlier light treatment of the pandemic.

In the local scene, the locally designed COVID-19 test kit is getting public support. The government still prefer the more expensive imported test kit. Figure that out.

Local health officials revealed a high recovery rate (81%) among those afflicted by the virus, an assurance that failed to prevent panic-buying in the face of the metro-wide lock-down.

Public fear intensified after the number of infected in Metro Manila started rising while several Cabinet members and at least 10 senators (as well as Presidential daughter / Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte) volunteered to undergo the 14-day self-quarantine.

Fear in the Metro is rising while situation in China seem to indicate the start of the end of the pandemic despite the absence of a WHO-recognized vaccine.

It is also obvious the facemask and rubbing alcohol panic-buying did not prevent Metro Manila residents from getting infected.

No one is paying attention to the WHO report that said the virus could be spreading through monetary bills. No one wants to part with their money, even in the face of a pandemic.

Hopefully, something good will come out of this global medical emergency – like uniting mankind against a common enemy. While heroes will abound (such as doctors and medical workers from Wuhan), some Filipinos will surely take advantage (such as hoarders of medical supplies).