THE time has come for “modified coronavirus quarantine.” Whatever that means, implying a better state of affairs; but from what I have seen, it is not.

Public transportation is in chaos. If people were expected, were eager or were awaited to return to work, they had to pass an ordeal of long waits. Some never made it, others like the elderly were denied use of public transport despite its social or physical distancing precautions. What is the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, or IATF-EID, thinking? Forbidding the elderly from going out, confining them to cramped spaces creates infection paradise. While elders are more vulnerable, they must not be punished for their vulnerability. The story of the 67-year-old woman who had an urgent errand to run is a case in point. She could not find a bus or public transport vehicle to get to her destination. So, she walked approximately a kilometer to the nearest LRT station and climbed the three flights of stairs (Why are there no escalators?) only to be denied entry because of her age. She was healthy enough to undertake the walking and climbing but the incomprehensible rule of treating seniors like underage children is an affliction not needed on top of the pandemic affliction.

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