The government of this fine republic has apparently adopted “frustrated resignation” as a policy orientation with respect to the ongoing Wuhan Virus pandemic, as indicated by numerous signals this week that it would soon accelerate the “reopening” of the economy, the coronavirus be damned. The most troubling thing about this perspective is that, as risky as it is, it may actually be the most realistic direction to take at this point.

On Thursday, a “second phase” plan for loosening restrictions and allowing for more “normal” activity was presented to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the awkwardly named Star Chamber that is apparently running the government’s pandemic response. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the first phase of the government’s National Action Plan, covering March through June, had obtained “good results,” thus “we are now able to contain the virus and there’s a need to craft another campaign or action plan.”

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