The world just got scarier. what used to be stuff we only read from novels or watch in TV and movies just got real. Governments all around the world are going on lock down mode in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. First world to third world countries are all buckling down with the strain of keeping fatalities to a minimum, of trying to stop its spread. Hate crime against asians or anyone who resemble Chinese people are on the rise – due to ignorance or people just wanting to blame their discomfort on someone else. The most difficult to swallow though are people who want to harm those who are actually treating the COVID-19 patients for fear of contamination. How selfish have we become?
To see COVID-19’s current spread, just look at this:
For Philippine specific data, refer to this:
As of this writing, worldwide fatalities now stand at around 81,580 from 1,395,136 confirmed COVID-19 cases. And the sad fact is that those who are treating COVID-19 patients are amongst the dead. In the Philippines, we currently have 203 deaths out of 4,076 confirmed cases.
But, amidst all of these, there is hope. We see our Philippine government rising up to the occasion even with a number of hiccups due to political clouts and political mudslinging that just leaves a lingering bad taste.
Quarantine Facilities like these are being readied ( photo is taken from Mark Villar’s FB page). More approved and official testing facilities are in place instead of just one single point of congestion which is the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine ( RITM). More test kits are available, and medical expertise from different parts of the world are available.
But what can common citizens like us, do to help?
- Help Flatten the Contamination.
- Practice Social Distancing, maintain 1-2 meter distance from other people.
- Lower Viral load ( i.e. chance of overloading your body with virus) by staying at home.
- Stay Clean, Keep Clean by decontaminating when coming from outside and keeping everything else clean.
- Do Frequent Hand washing and avoid touching your face, nose, mouth to prevent contamination.
- Help when and where you can.
- A number of people still subsist on a hand to mouth existence so share where and when you can.
- Pass on relief goods to those you know who need it more.
- Help front-liners do their jobs by protecting them from selfish beings when you can. Report abuse as soon as you see them.
- Donate rewards from credit cards, mobile apps to charity cases where possible
- Help our government.
- Keep your Sanity, This is just temporary 🙂
- Learn a new skill or improve an existing one. A number of online learning sites have provided free access to their content during the lockdown status.
- Reach out and check on your family, friends by calling them or sending them a message
- Work on your TODO list 🙂
The COVID-19 virus knows no geographic boundaries. It does not discriminate based on race.
Together, we can defeat and turn things around. Let’s do our part.
my take 