Social

In a post-COVID scenario, there will be increased demand for health services. Even after the COVID-19 is placed under control, health-seeking behavior of Filipinos is expected to improve. This increased demand also implies increased demand for health workers in the country but global demand for health workers is also expected to increase, especially over the short term.

As people work toward accepting this New Normal, the need to continue to focus on personal space and hand hygiene is essential. As COVID-19 testing becomes more widely available, it will be critical to test for active cases often and throughout the population reentering the work force, even in asymptomatic individuals. For suspected and previously confirmed cases, testing for antibodies is also necessary to determine if individuals have developed some level of immunity to the virus.

Social

The reconfiguration of many establishments in the Industry and Services sectors will result in a number of displaced workers, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been repatriated or are expected to be repatriated in view of the lower global demand. As of May 12, the number of OFWs repatriated to the region due to the pandemic, via Metro Manila and Cebu, stood at 300 with more expected in the coming days and weeks.

Social activities will remain limited by the need to practice physical distancing. Wearing of masks and bringing of hand sanitizers and alcohol will be the norm. Frequent washing of hands will continue to be promoted.

Mass gatherings will continue to be restricted or discouraged and areas that become easily crowded will be strictly monitored. This will affect church services which will have to be conducted online or broadcast through television and radio, as before. The Meetings, Innovations, Convention, and Exhibition sector will bear the brunt of this norm as well as for most entertainment activities – cinemas, concerts, sports, etc. Some of these venues have been converted into quarantine or treatment facilities.

Schools will likely remain closed, with the reopening date initially scheduled by the Department of Education on August 2423. When school does reopen, class sizes will have to be dramatically reduced. The education sector will then need to reconfigure its mode of delivery so that less time will be spent in the physical classroom. There will also be clamor for more virtual classes which will require support from a reliable digital infrastructure system with strong cybersecurity protection. Learning from home in a school setting will be encouraged especially for pre-school children, with parents as teachers.

Social distancing will be strictly observed. Schools will restrict participation in events like programs, rallies, sports and other events where there are large groups of people and social distancing will be difficult to enforce.

Deaths from COVID-19 will have a ripple effect causing impacts on the mental health and health of surviving family members. Some of the deceased and those confirmed cases may have been

23 Press Release “IATF approves the new school opening on August 24, 2020” (DepEd 2020)