An Expat's Reflections on the COVID-19 Pandemic

Like everywhere else in the world that was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,  when the virus struck the Philippines, it was a frightening experience not only  due to the disease itself and the resulting casualties, but also the severe impact that it's had on society as a whole.

As for the latter, there was a two month  period beginning mid-March  of a  government-ordered "enhanced community quarantine" that was imposed in Metro-Manila, and for a while on the entire island of Luzon, in order to fight this disease. It was a very difficult time for almost all of the area's 12 million inhabitants who  experienced the lockdown. This was especially  the case not only for victims of the disease and their families but also  for besieged hospitals and the frontliners who heroically manned them.

Then there was the economic repercussions for  the millions of workers and employers who were forced to stay home and so were  a deprived of their income (and many still are).  For almost everyone there was a also psychological upheaval in addition to the confinement such as dealing  with such unsettling phenomena  as looking out on formerly busy but now deserted streets that  looked  like something out of "The Walking Dead" (minus the  zombies), and initially the panic buying of the dwindling  essentials in the few businesses that weren't already shuttered.  Also through now throughout the area there are vehicle and pedestrian checkpoints,  police enforcement of  frontier-like bounderies between cities and even barangays (districts),  quarantine passes, curfews(!), social distancing, and  the mandatory face masks to be worn when out in public. And to  create even more anxiety, the establishments whose operations were suspended included  such basic services as medical clinics, laundries, and hardware stores  And for the poor there was a delay in furnishing much needed aid  All this upended millions of lives in Metro-Manila..  Overall, it was a nightmare from which there was no awakening.  But despite all these difficulties, it was important to keep in mind  that the alternative was even worse: a likely runaway number of new coronavirus cases and deaths here like that in Italy and America.

So it was a great relief in mid-May when the authorities deemed conditions were safe enough to  relax the ECQ to  a modified status, under which specified  business and industrial sectors  that had been prohibited to operate could finally do so. That order  included certain types of stores in shopping  malls, which themselves  had been completely shut down.  When I visited the mall here in Eastwood City a few days after it re-opened, I expected to see a surge of customers eager to seize the long awaited opportunity to address their pent up  shopping needs.  But to my surprise the place was nearly empty.  In fact it seemed that there were more security personnel  than the mallgoers..  Now, if the reason that there  was so little business is the result of  the financial impact from  the lockdown, then that's a sign that the local economy is in deep trouble. . .

Then there's the challenge of the new but not improved mall experience itself. As part of the new normal, in addition to the obligatory face masks, arriving mall customers are now also required to  present their quarantine passes, and undergo a thermal scan.  Once inside they are  discouraged  from lingering on the premises by the new policy of quick turnover. This is enforced by a warmer air tempetature and the discontinuance of free wi-fi.  What a change this is from just a few months ago when these centers were places where folks could leisurely shop or just hang out. Now customers are prompted to  enter, hurry up and do their  thing, and leave.

So this is the brave new world in these  COVID-19 times  and after, at least for the foreseeable future. Many of the customs  and traditions that Filipinos and foreigners alike took for granted have been upended.  So we will  all  have to cope with adjustments and radical changes to our lives that we had never even dreamed of. vs. the alternative of becoming another pandemic statistic. . And for the elderly, the risk of contracting the disease along with a fatal outcome is even greater.

Hopefully, if the number of new coronavirus cases here doesn't spike within the next few weeks , the current modified ECQ will be relaxed even further. But as I mentioned it's unlikely that the Philippines or the world for that matter will ever be the same as it was. Plus there's always the possibility of further waves of the virus making a return.  And even if a vaccine is eventually discovered.it will  probably not be available for public use for several months or even  a couple years afterwards. By that time, restoration of life  BCE. (before coronavirus existed ) will no longer be an option. The new normal will  have  taken hold of society,  and a future that we never would have imagined will be upon us.