Best Posts in Thread: Why government policies are aimed at "back to normal"

As a business owner (assumed) involved in tourism, what is your take on the 10pm curfew? My view is that I imagine tourists arriving here in the near future will know zero before arrival and it will come as a bit of a shock, especially those expecting to be able to have a night out in Dumaguete. Tourists are not known to be tucked up in bed that early. This seems to be a forgotten aspect of the locally implemented rules It's NOT an Alert level 3 requirement, as far as I can see and the governor has the power to scrap it.

 

I'm thinking that the factors behind the widespread move to get back to normal are:

1. The shrinking number of deaths relative to infections. For example, in Germany in the last week there were 12 deaths from Covid per million (with infections running at around 13,500 per million for the past week). At that level there would be 600 deaths per year per million, which represents less than 5% of the total number of expected deaths per year (all causes). There is simply no justification for measures with serious impact on society for a disease that (currently) kills so few, the more so when a large majority of infected people suffer only minor symptoms or are asymptomatic.
It's just one example, but developments go in this direction in many countries.
Obviously the quoted numbers are reported deaths and reported cases, but it seems likely there's a bigger undercount of infections than for deaths.

2. Diminishing pressure on hospitals.

3. The economic cost of certain measures is becoming too much after 2 years, especially in the hospitality and tourism sectors, but also in sports, cultural events, entertainment (concerts) etc.

Obviously it would be better if governments would persist with mandatory masks and other advice that doesn't do economic harm, but at least in Europe it seems many seem to think there's no need for these anymore either.

The other thing is, what if a next variant isn't so benign as omicron. It seems to me that it's going to be next to impossible for governments to reinstate restrictions/lockdowns even if those would be very necessary in future, after abolishing all current restrictions.

 

There's an anti-noise ordinance after 10 p.m. for residential areas that predates pandemic. Some people abide by it.

 

Singing expels more air and playing an instrument causes a rise in respiratory processes, also expelling more air.

*disclaimer* This is all sarcasm and I was one of those murderers that advocated for personal responsibility the entire "pandemic."

 

Yes, we missed it by about 12 hours, it seems!

 

By the way, me & the asawa enjoying the falls on Sunday (sorry not yesterday)...

 

Hey, just yesterday at Pulang-bato Falls, saw this 30ish couple, went up and questioned them (introducing myself as a curious tourism professor), and YES they are French, "here on vacation", neither divers nor sexpats, they found this little-known great resort just by poking around on the net, hired a taxi, were loving it, along with the lower Hot Springs -- Genuine Foreign TOURISTS, Yaaaayyyyyyy...! Maybe the first I've seen in two years...!!