J. Albert Gamboa Lockdown is known as movement control order in Malaysia, shelter in place or stay at home in America, and enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or its modified variant, general community quarantine (GCQ), in the Philippines. Last Thursday was is the 45th and last day of the Luzon-wide lockdown. ECQ protocols are being extended by another 15 days in Mega Manila (NCR, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon except Aurora) plus several provinces and cities in other regions. By then, it would have been a total of 62 days for Metro Manila, where the ECQ started two days earlier than the rest of Luzon. But whatever you call it, this unprecedented lockdown has upended the lives and livelihoods of 7.5 billion people in more than 200 countries worldwide. As we prepare for the gradual lifting of ECQ after May 15, legislators are crafting measures that would be effective for three years unless a vac-cine to eradicate COVID-19 is discovered. The “New Normal for the Workplace and Public Spaces Act of 2020” has been filed in Congress as House Bill 6623. This proposed law will make the wearing of face masks mandatory along with temperature checks and physical distancing. It also specifies the industries that would be allowed to reopen after ECQ and GCQ such as agriculture, manufacturing, essential retail, transportation, logistics, utilities, mining, export, and business process outsourcing. Among the sectors that are to remain closed indefinitely are gaming, gyms, fitness studios, sports facilities, libraries, archives, museums, travel agencies, tour operators, reservation services, and activities of membership organizations. Mass gatherings will still be banned – whether political, religious, cultural, business, or entertainment in nature. Businesses ranging from small and medium enterprises (SME) to large corporations are pivoting to health-related products and services in the post-lockdown era. For instance, Audiowav Media, Inc. has rolled out its ozone treatment services for hotels, restaurants, hospitals, food processing plants, schools, offices, and residences called WAV Disinfect, intended for indoor air treatment against bacteria, viruses, and odors. A home-grown company pioneering in curated music channels for business establishments, Audiowav has also diversified into hypoallergenic scenting solutions, systems integration of audiovisual hardware, and instore LED video services. It recently expanded to Indonesia with its proprietary train technology for Jakarta’s commuter railway system, and is set to list on the SME board of the Philippine Stock Exchange this year. Local businessmen in the acrylic fabrication industry based in the cities of Mandaluyong and Iloilo have teamed up to produce aerosol boxes for the COVID- 19 patients of Rizal Medical Center. These devices made of acrylic material are beneficial in reducing health workers’ exposure to droplets while intubating the patients, and helps in confining viral spread inside ICUs. Even a multinational consumer goods giant like Procter & Gamble (P&G) has shifted some of its factories to the production of personal protective equipment (PPE). The Laguna plant of P&G Philippines is one of 12 manufacturing sites globally that will begin making PPE, in this case masks that are not for sale but will be donated to hospital workers and P&G’s own employees. P&G Canada’s contribution is to produce face shields, while that of P&G India would be anti-bacterial hand sanitizers for frontliners. When we emerge from this lockdown, the world would have drastically changed and life as we lived it will never be the same again. The World War II generation knew this, and so did those who experienced the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Let us heed the advice of the sage of our times, infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said that the world will only be able to return to the “old normal” if and when vaccines and therapies become available to protect the general population from future pandemics. [email protected]