Nippy

On the first day of February, the coldest temperature so far for Metro Manila was recorded at 18.5°C (65.3°F) while Baguio City dropped to 10°C (50°F). You people from the Northern hemisphere who happen to be reading this may choke on your own snicker and say, “You call that cold?” — for a tropical country like ours, THAT’S COLD.

This is probably the best time to take out your Uniqlo jackets and sweaters or sleep in your flannel PJs. These days, taking a bath at 4AM (at least for me on a weekday) might feel like the ice bucket challenge, but there’s nothing that hot water straight from the whistling kettle couldn’t fix.

This kind of weather may also coincide with the flu season (I’m still nursing a bad cough) and it actually triggers rheumatic pains in every joint of my body, yet I’ve got absolutely no complaints. I’ll take this weather anytime than lose my sanity with the infernal Philippine summer.

Perceived Hate

It’s no secret that there’s been an ongoing tension between China and the Philippines over many, many issues. Most are about territorial disputes and supposed abuses of Chinese nationals here in the Philippines.

Now that the confirmed incidents of the Coronavirus that originated from Wuhan, China is growing rapidly globally, many are concerned about the possibility of it spreading in the country.

The total number of nCov cases already exceeded that of SARS back in 2003. Some are calling a total ban of ALL flights coming from China for a limited time until the situation is contained. They believe that it’s the most prudent thing to do to avoid a possible outbreak.

A few, however, think that this move is rather harsh and some even used words like “Xenophobia” to describe such actions.

But is protecting our territory, this time over a possible epidemic, still be considered Xenophobia? Was this just mere hate and dislike of Chinese people in general?

The White House has already expressed the possibility of suspending all China-to-US flights over the outbreak. South Korea and Singapore are also calling in a similar petition. Mongolia had closed its borders. Can we ask for the same or will it be premature?

The reason why this is alarming is the fact that even developed countries with strict border and infection control like Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the US have confirmed cases already. This makes me worry about our country’s epidemic preparedness as we are not capable of handling a medical crisis of the same proportion.

I know we still don’t have any confirmed cases as of now—thankfully—and the Department of Health has just assured the public that our security has been intensified. But we have to remember we are dealing with a mutating virus that can have an incubation period of up to 2 weeks. Meaning, a carrier may be able to enter the country undetected by thermal scanners and would only show signs and symptoms after many days of interaction with other people.

A DOH rep even said that there is no reason to use face masks as a precaution because we have no circulating Coronavirus case yet. This contradicts earlier call by the same agency to wear face masks.

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It’s hard to talk about restrictions without having other people think of it as somewhat “political”. President Duterte has always been seen as a “friend” of China as he’s extra lax when it comes to the territorial disputes and other issues (like undocumented Chinese nationals working here). Duterte supporters somehow mirrored the same partiality towards them, that speaking against Chinese or China, in general—makes you a critic of the administration.

DOH just stated that putting a travel ban would sever diplomatic and political ties with China. The president is also not keen on imposing restrictions as we have to “respect their freedom flights”, he said.

The Bureau of Immigration has stopped issuing VUAs (Visa Upon Arrival) to Chinese nationals. This means that if a Chinese national would like to enter our country, they will need to secure an entry visa from their foreign posts.

At the moment, all we can do is pray that this will be enough to control the virus from entering the country.

(Update: As of late afternoon of 1/30/2020, DOH has confirmed a 38-year old Chinese woman from Wuhan, China positive for the coronavirus. The first case for the Philippines. Contact-tracing is now being done as the woman traveled to Cebu and Dumaguete after she arrived last week.)

(Another Update: As of 2/2/2020, the first and so far the only case of n-Cov death outside mainland China is in the Philippines. President Duterte has already widened the travel ban to all of mainland China, including Hong Kong and Macau.)

A Rough Start

Most of us welcomed 2020 with hope and positivity; we all wish it will be better than the years before in many ways.

The first month of the year was eventful, but not in a good way. So many things had happened in a span of days, with one crisis overlapping another: The worst leg of the Australian fires, the Iran-US conflict, Taal Volcano eruption, the 2019-nCoV, a deadly earthquake in Turkey, and the tragic death of the basketball legend from a helicopter crash.

While the gravity of these issues varies depending on the person who hears it, we can all agree that none of it was a good way to start the year.

This is the very reason why many people felt that January is a long month. For most of us, the beginning of the year simply sucks.

Early this month, World War III became a trending topic on Twitter after a US airstrike killed an Iranian General. Iran vows retaliation and attacked the US forces in Iraq that many think it’ll soon escalate to nuclear warfare. I don’t know the state of it at the moment—if the tension simmered down, or if one or both countries stepped down, or if it was only eclipsed by other news—whatever the reason, there’s no denying that the possibility of serious conflict is hovering us.

It’s also depressing to see that even if the Alert Level for Taal volcano has now been lowered to 3, the reality that most of our kababayans in the affected areas are going to start over from almost nothing breaks my heart. Even if the alert is down, the threat remains. The toughest part of it all is that no one knows how long will people suffer such uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus is not something we should take lightly as the worldwide death toll is rising fast.

I stocked up on face masks and alcohol; I don’t recall ever being this OC even during the flu season. I now avoid touching restroom doorknobs, escalator handrails or elevator buttons and stay away from crowded areas as much as possible. These measures are being done because I’m scared of what I’d bring home after a long day outside, more than what it can actually do to me.

Just last night, the Department of Health confirmed one of the hospitals in Pasay as having admitted a “person under observation” of the disease. It may not be a confirmed case yet (still no nCov case in the Philippines as of this writing) but it’s alarming, nonetheless. Remember that the virus has an incubation period, so with bated breaths, we wait.

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Even if you wanted to be optimistic despite it all, there is still that considerable anxiety. Personally, it’s hard to watch the news and read social media posts these days not just because of these issues but more of how some people react to it. Like I’m shocked at the audacity of some to make every issue political. Seriously, social issues in itself are already complex, so people should just stop bickering over it.

Then there’s some who just enjoy bringing people down. I call it habitual skeptics, people who would oppose something because they thrive on angry responses.

I have this FB friend who expressed his irritation at how suddenly people became Kobe fans after his death, suggesting most are mere bandwagoners. Whether this is true or not, we don’t need such negativity anymore so why can’t he just let other people be? Besides, one doesn’t have to be a fan to mourn or feel bad over the death of some celebrity.

(Would you believe that people on the internet are fighting over the right way of wearing a surgical mask?)

Seriously, we don’t need this anymore.

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Thankfully, the month is about to end, and I have to admit that I can’t wait to tear January off the 2020 calendar. With fingers crossed, I pray things will get better not just for myself, but for everybody. We might have experienced a rough start but let us not lose hope in the fact that after the bad comes the good.

I guess we should just have to keep the faith.