Today, October 20, 2020, it’s almost like everything’s back to normal, except for the continually rising Covid cases in the country. I mean, heavy traffic is back, crowds of people in main thoroughfares and malls, no age limits for going out, most resorts and tourist destinations are open, hotels are open. Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash.
It was so different in the first few weeks of the pandemic (in February and March). Cities were practically ghost towns (something like what you’d see in zombie movies) and it was too scary even to go just outside your house. There were wild ideas floating around that the virus may just be floating in the wind carried miles away from its sources. Just going out of the house may prove fatal. So we dared not go out even on our porch without total protection on.
But those days, we were told that wearing surgical masks was over reacting to the crisis. The health department (DOH) in particular kept saying that wearing masks was more dangerous. And some smart Alecks laughed at people who wore them. We didn’t need to wear masks except in hospitals, they insisted. And they maintained that alcohol was useless for disinfecting.
But a lot of people decided to keep wearing masks anyway, including us. One reason was DOH’s failure to contain the problem at the very start while still claiming they were on top of the situation. A lot of people felt some health officials were lying. Moreover, they thought that if enough travel strictures were initially implemented the contamination would not have worsened–especially, travel stricture on tourists coming in from mainland China. DOH and the government as a whole ignored this.
Instead, some people in government raised the issue of “racism” whenever anything about travel restrictions to and from China was mentioned. And a lot of people believed it. They really thought it was a race issue and defended China tourists from the “discrimination.”
Furthermore, a lot of what are now normal and proper health protocols were belittled in the first few weeks and months. So, people were at a loss on what to do to keep safe. I believe this contributed to the increase in cases. People were discouraged to wear masks (and even made it look stupid to do so) and told that Covid 19 was really not that lethal compared to the ordinary Flu which had been killing more people than Covid did.
So some people felt comfortable in the thought and simply didn’t pay Covid the attention it deserved. They became lax on safety precautions.
Granted that the Flu has killed more people than Covid has, but this is not a contest of who’s killed more. The fact that it can be extremely hazardous when caught should make us all extremely careful. All illnesses that have the potential to kill should be treated with seriousness.
Anyway, all people were kept indoors (and kept from their jobs) so that only essential institutions like hospitals and pharmacies were kept open with a skeletal work force. Malls, department stores and grocery stores were almost empty. Church buildings, though, were closed and the religious soon protested about this—I mean their religious buildings being forcibly closed and yet some malls weren’t.
On our part, my family and those who attended my Word sessions on Sundays had online church fellowship and enjoyed a new mode of worship. It also afforded enough time to focus on God and our inner man and evaluate our spiritual standing in really quiet times. My family also watched movies to while time away, read books or played video games. We watched the Walking Dead seasons and episodes until that part when Rick was taken by a chopper somewhere with Jadis and then Daryl and company saw what looked like a mass of people (or zombies?) from afar heading towards a city.
Anyway…
Local governments started distributing a few essential commodities for free to their constituents, and sometimes some cash handouts. But these were not enough and not all were equally provided. And there were whispers of corruption somewhere. Soon, government funds for this purpose reportedly ran out. So eventually, some companies and offices were allowed to open so people can start their livelihoods again.
But public transport were not yet sufficiently available and those who were able to work found it very hard to travel to and from workplaces. Local and regional lockdowns were still in place and many found themselves stranded or marooned in the process. Some were forced to walk to and from work. Some individuals were reported to have walked from Metro Manila to their provinces in hopes that rural life would be more tolerable. I saw a guy on TV pushed his wife in a wheelchair on the long road to a hospital for her dialysis treatments.
A lot of hassles during lockdowns and pandemics.
Each family was allowed one quarantine pass for one person, to avoid arrest, when going out for basic commodities. Soon, grocery stores were opened and long lines of people became an ordinary sight in these places, lined with people mostly buying items in bulk for their week-long or month-long supplies. It was strange seeing everyone wearing masks and goggles in grocery stores, suspicious of each other, and almost no one was talking to anyone. You felt the presence of the virus more with such scenario.
There were even foolish issues on riding motorcycles during lockdowns. Riding in tandem was prohibited even between spouses, and there was a time a motorcycle driver was arrested for driving his daughter, who was a frontline nurse, to work. So his daughter walked to work while he got arrested.
And then the government thought of enforcing a shield barrier between a motorcycle driver and his back rider. The result was hilarious. Imagine an acrylic divider between two folks riding in tandem on a motorcycle even if they’re wearing their helmets with protected visors plus face masks. But that, too, was later dismissed when it finally became clear to the authorities that the idea sucked.
But then in the end, like with everything else, familiarity often breeds contempt. Soon people became used to Covid and the number of cases it resulted in (people probably were fed up with the daily reports in the news), and you’d note how safeguards were relaxed and people again hit the streets just like that—like the virus has disappeared (or never happened at all). Well, except for the masks and face shields.
But later, some people started wearing masks and shields carelessly, taking them for granted. They wore them more out of concern for being arrested and fined than for health and safety purposes. Today, you see them wearing masks on their chins or exposing their noses (probably so they could breathe more). And the shields are often worn covering the top of their heads than their faces.
If you went out today, it may be hard to imagine that about 9 months ago things were quite different and everything was taken seriously. I can remember when cases hit 3,000 nationwide and we were already alarmed. Today, it’s almost 500K more or less, but people don’t pay much attention anymore. They still go out and frequent the malls like they were a total paradise out there.
CS GAERLAN 