Americans are sick and tired of both the pandemic and related restrictions, and some state governors believe the Covid-19 pandemic is reaching the endemic phase as infections are going down fast. They are increasingly saying it’s time that the nation learned to live with Covid, much like it lives with the flu.
From the Associated Press: “California became the first state to formally shift to an “endemic” approach to the coronavirus with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Thursday of a plan that emphasizes prevention and quick reaction to outbreaks over mandated masking and business shutdowns. The milestone, nearly two years in the making, envisions a return to a more normal existence with the help of a variety of initiatives and billions in new spending to more quickly spot surges or variants, add health-care workers, stockpile tests and push back against false claims and other misinformation.”
The key phrase is “billions in new spending,” which will enable the state to keep its nearly 40 million residents safe. Newsom’s plan sets specific goals, such as stockpiling 75 million masks, establishing the infrastructure to provide up to 200,000 vaccinations and 500,000 tests a day in the event of an outbreak, and adding 3,000 medical workers within three weeks in surge areas. Newsom’s administration came up with an acronym to capsulize key elements of its new approach: SMARTER. The letters stand for Shots, Masks, Awareness, Readiness, Testing, Education and Rx, a reference to improving treatments for Covid-19.
The British government announced on Saturday plans to scrap all Covid restrictions as part of a plan for “living with Covid.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the legal requirement to isolate for at least five days after a positive Covid-19 test will be replaced with advisory measures, and the coronavirus will be treated more like the flu as it becomes endemic. The new plan foresees vaccines and treatments keeping the virus in check. “Covid will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms,” Johnson said.
More countries are reopening their borders: Jordan on Thursday said it was easing Covid restrictions on foreign visitors in an effort to revive its tourism industry. Starting March 1, it said visitors would no longer be required to take a PCR test before entering the country or take another PCR test upon arrival. But visitors will have to sign a pledge to get tested if they feel Covid symptoms and agree to self-isolate if they contract Covid-19.
Israel announced Sunday that it would allow unvaccinated tourists to enter the country beginning next month. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that foreign tourists, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, would be required to take PCR tests before their flights and upon landing. The rules go into effect on March 1.
Australia on Monday opened its international borders to all vaccinated tourists, nearly two years after it first imposed one of the world’s strictest Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The Philippines last week also reopened its borders to foreign visitors. Travelers from visa-free countries, however, must present proof of vaccination and negative PCR test results taken within 48 hours prior to departure.
The Department of Health recorded 1,923 new infections on February 19, the lowest tally of new Covid cases in 2022. The 7.9 percent positivity rate on Saturday was also the lowest since December 28, 2021. With cases going down fast, are we now ready to move past the crisis phase into an endemic phase where we, like in other countries, will learn to live with Covid?
Presidential adviser for Covid-19 response Vince Dizon earlier said the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 is already crafting a pandemic exit plan. “I think we will begin with the transition in February. We just need to bring down the cases to the levels that we had in late last year, below 1,000 cases per day, then we can begin the process of transitioning from a pandemic framework to a more endemic framework,” Dizon said.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., NTFchief implementer and vaccine czar, said an intensified Covid-19 vaccination program is crucial to the country’s smooth transition from pandemic to an endemic phase. He cited a recent analysis of some global health experts that said unvaccinated persons are prone to carrying virus mutations. “We cannot have safe transition from pandemic to endemic if not everyone is vaccinated,” Galvez said, adding that those who have availed themselves of the booster doses have gained added protection against the dreaded disease, even with the presence of new Covid variants.