Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the Philippines' strict curfew.
With the economy in crisis, there had been speculation that the restrictions would be eased, but the restrictions will no longer be lifted in March.
With the announcement of the infection of the president's spokesman, Mr. Roque, and the number of people infected per day exceeding 3,000, as well as the confirmation of a mutated coronavirus, it was determined that the restrictions were not ready to be lifted.
Because of this situation, foreigners are not allowed to enter the country in principle. However, even if they could, they would be quarantined for two weeks, and if they were over 60 years old like me, they could not go out.
There is no prospect of the children's schools reopening.
As expected, not going to school for a year will have a great impact on the future.
If my wife and I had gotten married a year later, it would have been very difficult.
We had our wedding on March 8 and returned to Cebu Island from our honeymoon in Singapore on March 13.
Even if we had managed to come back to Japan, the procedures to bring us to Japan, starting with the lockdown, must have been delayed.
I would like to go to Cebu as soon as the restrictions are lifted and I can enter the country, but at this rate, I don't think I can go for a while. I'm in trouble.
Personally, as I mentioned before, I don't think the new coronavirus is a virus to be feared.
In terms of the number of deaths per year, it is a little more virulent than the flu.
Of course, if 0.16% to 0.19% of the population dies, as in the United States and the United Kingdom, the severity is high.
In the case of the Japanese population, this means that 200,000 to 240,000 people have died.
Japan's mortality rate is 0.007%, or 7 in 100,000. The Philippines has a rate of 0.01%, or one in 10,000.
Therefore, I don't think the Philippines needs to impose such a strict curfew. However, since Filipinos like to have fun, the number of infected people may increase all at once, and since there are problems with the medical system, moderate restrictions may be necessary.
After I wrote that, the entry restrictions became even stricter.
The number of people allowed to enter the country per day was set at 1,500 from March 18 to April 18. Not only foreigners, but ordinary Filipinos will also be stopped from entering the country. Only OFWs will be allowed to enter the country.
The Philippines became even more distant.
