Reflections - 04.21.2020

Somehow I stopped counting the days - how far along are we in this Community Quarantine, I am not sure. I just know that it's been a little over a month. 

I was anticipating this moment. How will the situation be a month after the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon? A month after the exodus from the National Capital Region. How will Allen, Northern Samar be? A town that has three ferry terminals; the gateway to Eastern Visayas. In truth I was preparing for the worst. What are the chances that an asymptomatic COVID19-positive person would be coming home to Region 8? Huuuuge!

But as of this writing, Allen, the town I've called home for 5 years now is COVID19-free. I hope it stays that way. We are breathing easy, but are still cautious. During the first and second weeks following the declaration of the Community Quarantine, I was feeling paranoid. It didn't help that I hung out on a daily basis with frontliners: policemen who manned checkpoints, control points and highways. Thankfully, family and friends here are all doing fine. Wearing face masks, washing hands and physical distancing, among others is the new normal. We're on our toes. 

Now, it would have been nice, if it didn't turn out that the 5th recorded COVID-positive case in Region 8 was from my hometown of Burauen, Leyte. That moment when your brain goes what, why, how, and why. How'd the virus end up there? That's the thing about COVID19, you won't know that you're carrying it until it's too late. You could be spreading it without your knowledge. That is why it is important to follow the protocol for quarantine if you have travel history. 

Well, my annual sojourn with Celestine during the dry season across the San Juanico Bridge has been canceldt indefintiely. Our latest vacay to Leyte was also fraught with perils. What was the name that bagyo again? Well, between this and that, we truly live in interesting times. Thankfully, technology allows us all to stay connected. My siblings are balls of energy, I bet they are bouncing off the walls as I write this. But they love staying in too, much like me so I bet they're not feeling cooped up. My mother loves doing groceries in Tacloban every weekend, bet she's missing that. I heard my father just finished reading Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Wow! And they also watched the movie.

Under the tunnel of lights. Christmas 2020 infront of the Burauen Municipal Hall.

Looking at the current statistics has kept me hopeful. Around this time, the total number of recoveries has exceeded the total number of deaths. The daily recovery rate also outnumber the daily death rate. The daily confirmed positives though still run on the 200s and I hope it goes down until we can finally flatten the curve.

This is the screenshot of https://endcov.ph/dashboard/ and these were the numbers at around 10:00 PM of April 20, 2020. These days, I frequent DOH's Facebook Page as well as this site. Graphs have a way of putting things in perspective.

The question hangs thick in the air. How much longer are we going to be under community quarantine? It has been extended once, as of this date. We wait for the president's announcement. If we are to consider the trends predicted by scientists, the quarantine could be extended several times. All for the best.

I live day to day.

Every time I open my eyes in the morning, I feel grateful.

Early morning sunshine makes me feel stronger.

My lifestyle is very sedentary, I am making an effort to move my lazy ass every now and then.

Every time my daughter hugs me I feel like 5 years get added to my life. 😄

It is common knowledge, but it has been affirmed further during the quarantine that my husband cooks better than me. 😀

I am scared of weakening my immune system further, so I TRY to sleep early.

I have stopped drinking all sorts of tea concoctions, they triggered my acid reflux and I wasn't breathing properly at night, I thought I had COVID19.

Water is still the best.

Look, my skin is clearing up.

I should get off Facebook to stop feeling anxious but it is also my main source of the latest news.

I read posts about recoveries.

I read posts about deaths, especially about the medical front liners.

Both make me ugly cry, I am a mess.

I don't know how to pray but I am sure God can hear the jumbled words coming from my heart.

Keep washing your hands.

Stay at home if you can. Follow health protocols.

 Help the front liners.

XO,

caRissa ♥️