“And I’ll rise up, I’ll rise like the day

I’ll rise up, I’ll rise unafraid

I’ll rise up, And I’ll do it a thousand times again

And I’ll rise up, High like the waves

I’ll rise up, In spite of the ache

I’ll rise up, And I’ll do it a thousands times again

– Andra Day, “Rise Up“

The world is now experiencing a pandemic. And just like in any part of the world now, our lives are halted so we can survive these pandemic. To contain the spread of COVID-19, the Philippines is undergoing community quarantine. The whole Luzon started its lockdown on March 16, so it’s nearly a month now.

I wouldn’t have thought that I will experience a pandemic at this great degree in my lifetime. The last one was the 1918 pandemic flu or the Spanish flu. Lasting from January 1918 to December 1920, it was the most severe pandemic in history infecting about 500 million people, a quarter of the world’s population at the time. Although COVID-19 has milder symptoms in general and most people can actually recover, it is very infectious and can be deadly for people with old age and/or other health problems. The problem is when the number of infected patients will overwhelm the hospitals and eventually, health services will fail. And to flatten the curve, social distancing is needed.

That’s why we are on a lockdown for 2 weeks now. And because I was living alone (few blocks away from my parents), I was given the “quarantine pass” so I can go outside to buy food and medicine.

My everyday routine is the same: waking up, riding the stationary bike, taking a bath, eating, watching netflix/youtube, taking a nap/sleep in repeat twice a day. I am already thankful for this unlike the frontliners, our modern heroes, who are dealing with the sick people everyday risking their health and lives. There were already a number of medical doctors who have lost their lives. My prayers are with the frontliners who are battling this pandemic. In my part, I must do what I was tasked to do: stay at home and save lives by not getting the virus myself. I hope this will get to the senses of all the people.

As of this writing, there were already more than a thousand patients in the Philippines who are confirmed positive for the virus. These numbers might be double or triple of the actual positives because there were not enough tests available and not enough facility to do the tests. One person under investigation (PUI) in my city was already dead for few days before the test came out confirming he died of COVID-19. I don’t know when this pandemic will end. All I know is that we need to survive. I hope we survive.