02463: Ready to Re-open?

Metro Manila Community Quarantine - Day 87

So Anytime Fitness continues to put out a lot of content about all the new guidelines for when they re-open. Today I saw a rather lengthy video by the Vikings buffet place about their own new rules for when they are allowed to reopen. 

We haven't had an official announcement yet as to what's going to happen after the originally scheduled end day for GCQ on 15 June, but it seems businesses are eager to get back into action. The different new rules are far from ideal with weird bits like restaurants requiring customers to fill out health declaration forms and gyms staying that bathrooms won't be open for use. But all these stringent requirements are part of an effort to reassure customers that it's okay to patronize their businesses because of all the effort they've put into ensuring health and safety. 

Should such facilities re-open under another step down in our quarantine efforts to what the national government calls Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), I can't say that I'll be eager to go back. I definitely don't feel comfortable with the idea of rushing back to the gym once they re-open and Tobie and I probably wouldn't to go to high traffic venues like buffet restaurants or cinemas within the first month or so just to be sure.

What would actually make people feel safe to go out? Or should that even be a "goal" for businesses while this global pandemic remains to be a very real threat and a vaccine is far from being ready for release to the public? Who knows at this point. By now a lot of folks are eager to return to some greater sense of "normalcy" in any form and businesses need to get customers back into their establishments in order to stay afloat.

The question of safety may boil down to the individual to determine just how much risk they are comfortable with when it comes with activities in public spaces. 

In the meantime, I assume that the national government will make an announcement as to whether or not Metro Manila will shift to MGCQ by Thursday night or latest Friday morning, based on their pattern of press behavior thus far.