I have had my personal blog "abandoned" for the longest time given my family and work life commitments. My busy schedule has not changed, but today I purposely pushed myself to write this post as this feeling, this event, is something that I would like to document and reminisce when it is all gone. I look forward to seeing this coronavirus pandemic come to an end but I will keep the astounding strength of human spirit as its best lesson learned.
It was January 2020 when it was made known publicly in Europe, in the news, that Wuhan, China is severely affected by the coronavirus. Albeit the different geographical locations, people started to massively buy hand sanitizers and masks as preventive measures. It was also noticeable that people who take the public transport are more critical of the other passengers who were coughing by giving them the aghast looks. There is a strong awareness on the basic symptoms of the Covid-19. From January to late February, we were still living a normal life - daily and weekly family, school, work routine and weekend routines comprised of children in the park, get togethers in bars and chit chat and social gatherings in the restaurants and shopping malls were still evident.
It all began to change on the weekends of Feb 29 and Mar 6 when news started to spread that more and more people were admitted to hospitals and were showing signs of Covid. The perspective of the news also changed to showcase the covid impact in Europe particularly in Italy and in Spain. It became a hot topic as we started to have first hand experience about it. It was on the weekend of Mar 06 when it registered a high (sort of an outlier figure) volume of patients. This eventually prompted our government to make the decision to close the Madrid educational system for 15 days from Mar 11. This has a domino effect as the rest of the autonomous regions followed suit and because schools are closed, the companies decided to modify their work from home (WFH) scheme to enable working parents to support and attend to their children. At this rate, there were images of extensive panic buying of supplies and grocery items. It was a distressing sight. The government then made an official announcement that Spain is on a state of emergency and borders and territories were closed. It was also a message to calm the people that there will be regular supplies of food, that groceries and drugstores are open but all other entities are closed to prevent the transmission of the virus. The rest of the EU and Schengen countries then followed suit.
Fast forward to today, Mar 21, 10 days since we started working from home and 6 days since we were officially in locked down/community quarantine mode, things haven´t improved in terms of the transmission of the virus, in fact as we talk about the curve, it seems that we are reaching the peak. Hospitals continue to collapse, more and more people are showing the initial symptoms of the virus. More and more news and private messages via whatsapp and the social media regarding the obvious lack of medical supplies and lack of preventive measures continue to circulate.
As these things continue to unfold, I continue to believe that there is a silver lining to this and this too will come to an end. This is a global test to our human spirit and our commitment to social responsibility. The positive and grateful person in me acknowledges the following:
1. The medical staff, front liners in the public transportation, drugstores, groceries, police and military officers, mediamen and other professionals who are required to go to work: While most of our working from home and strictly complying with the community quarantine, these are the professionals who are providing 1st hand service to ensure that the affected patients will recover and that the needs of the country are attended to. I can imagine that the situation in the hospitals regardless of the location is chaotic and very stressful. And the medicals professionals are withstanding the problematic and chaotic situations as they show their unwavering commitment to human life. And the front liners who are braving the everyday commute and the uncertainty to provide support to the community. Words are not enough to thank you, but let me say it from the bottom of my heart.. Thank you, thank you very much!!
2. Our Government and Public Servants: While most of our governments probably acted late and disregarded the potential impact of the covid, I am grateful that our leaders are taking the stand to protect the citizens and the economy. Everyday, the national leaders in Spain - the minister of health, minister of national defense and the prime minister make appearances to address national concerns. Even in my country, the Philippines, which is marred by colossal corruption, the local government units and the national government are making a stand and actively supporting the people. As the covid has a gigantic impact on the economy, I am most thankful to our governments´support and assistance programs to the people who are affected by providing financial assistance, by automating the paper works for the registry of unemployment and working with other private entities to extend the payment terms for the mortgage and loans. Again, it is not perfect because the covid´s impact is faster and greater than the actions and decisions of the government leaders but I am not taking a blind eye on what they have done and what they continue to do.
3. To our companies and workmates: Our companies immediately adjusted their policies to adapt to the impact of the covid pandemic. The WFH dynamics is a clear show of confidence on the professionalism and capabilities of the workforce to stay productive despite being confined at home with the entire family (Remember, there´s community quarantine). I have always been a strong advocate of WFH as I practice it a lot and I can objectively say that my productivity has been affected by WFH. Colleagues and workmates have also been more responsive.
We are facing tough times now but all things come to an end. This too shall come to an end, without a doubt. In the meantime, let us continue to comply and do our part so we can prevent further transmission of the virus.
Psalm 6: Prayer for Recovery from Grave Illness: O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger nor chasten me in your wrath, Have mercy on, O Lord, for I am languishing, O Lord, heal me for my bones are troubled, my soul also is sorely troubled, But you O Lord, how long? The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord has accepted my prayer.
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