Parents and children relax at a public park, as the country’s capital region loosens coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, November 2, 2021. Picture taken November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David
MANILA, Philippines — Former Department of Health (DOH) secretaries who are advising Vice President Leni Robredo agree with the move to allow children outdoors now, with a caveat that parents and authorities should keep safety a top concern.
During a press briefing on Monday, ex-DOH secretaries Manuel Dayrit and Esperanza Cabral said that safety from COVID-19 should still be a paramount concern even as the government allowed minors in most areas including Metro Manila to do outdoor activity.
According to Dayrit, since children have been forced to stay at home for almost two years due to lockdowns, moving outdoors would also be a big help for their social development and mental health.
“Para sa akin pwede nang lumabas ang mga bata, pero kailangan lang mag-ingat. Kung nagma-mask sila makakatulong ito sa pag-iingat, kasi kung iisipin natin halos dalawang taon silang naka-binbin eh. Kailangan mo ring asikasuhin ‘yong kanilang emotional at saka social development eh,” Dayrit, who accompanied Robredo in her press briefing, said.
(For me we can allow the children to go outdoors, but we still need to be careful. If they wear masks, it would be a great help in protecting themselves, because if you think of it, they have been staying indoors for almost two years. We also need to address their emotional and social development.)
“Eh kung patatagalin pa ‘yan alam natin talagang mapipinsala sila. So ika nga ni Vice President, binabalanse. Pwedeng lumabas pero hindi dapat magpabaya, at kailangan pa ring magmask,” he added.
(If you would prolong their stay indoors, they would be affected. So as the Vice President said, it’s a balancing act. You can go out but you should not disregard health protocols, and wear masks.)
Cabral on the other hand appealed to parents to properly discern whether it would be safe or risky for their children to move outdoors, as they have the discretion on whether they should bring their children out or not.
“Pero dito ngayon makikita natin kung papaano natin ipa-practice ‘yong ating responsibilidad para sa sarili natin at saka sa mga minamahal nating mga anak, kasi alam naman natin na hindi pa safe, andyan pa rin ang COVID. Eh wala naman nang makakapagsabi sa’yo na ‘wag mong dalhin ang mga anak mo na masyadong maraming tao kung hindi ikaw na lang,” Cabral explained.
(You would see now how we can practice the responsibility of taking care of ourselves and our children, because we know it’s not yet safe with COVID still around. But no one can tell you anymore not to bring your children to public places, except for yourself.)
“So ang aking appeal ay do’n sa mga nanay at tatay, na i-exercise nila ‘yong kanilang responsibility at ‘wag nilang gawin ‘yong palagay nila ay magiging mapanganib para sa kanila at sa mga anak nila,” she added.
(So my appeal to parents is to exercise their responsibility and refrain from doing things they think would put them and their children in peril.)
Robredo also pointed out that the downtrend of COVID-19 infections should not be taken as a signal to be complacent, as the threat of the pandemic is still there.
“Lagi ko namang inuulit di ba, na laging balancing act ‘yon eh. Na parating iisipin natin na hindi gustong sabihin na bumaba na ‘yong kaso na hindi na tayo nag-aasikaso. Kailangan kahit binaba na ‘yong alert level, kailangan ‘yong operationalization nito hindi ‘yong opposite site of the spectrum,” she noted.
A family spends time together in a big shopping mall in Quezon City on Saturday, November 6, 2021. The government’s pandemic task force has placed the entire Metro Manila under COVID-19 Alert Level 2, allowing minors inside malls, since November 5. INQUIRER.net/Katherine G. Adraneda
(I have always said that this is a balancing act. We should always think that we cannot leave things as it is because of a lower COVID-19 case count. Even if the alert level went down, our operationalization should not be on the opposite side of the spectrum.)
Robredo, who is running in the 2022 national elections for president, recently reminded Filipinos that the top concern at this time is still the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was despite cases going on a downward trend, after the surge in August to September due to the COVID-19 Delta variant.
Over the weekend, netizens on social media took notice of the busier roads and the high number of children in public areas like malls, parks, and other places of leisure in Metro Manila, after the national government placed the National Capital Region under Alert Level 2.
However, authorities especially from DOH have warned against being too relaxed, as the pandemic’s threat along with other variants — like the Delta subvariant — is still present.
The Vice President last Wednesday released a detailed plan against COVID-19 and for economic recovery, stating that a strong healthcare system for the country would be necessary to beating the pandemic.