Something we cannot see has shifted the rhythm of our human lives. Life became wretched. It created fear and anxiety, it triggered us to be scared from physical isolation from our loved ones and it made us scared of dying. We hid because we were afraid. We got scared because we knew we could die and it made us realize we do not want to die, not yet.
Not only Filipino lives changed but every single person in the world was affected by this plague. Since the declaration of the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, countries around the world shuffled their cycle of living. This shift was brought to sweep and slow down the spread of this virus. But within these five months since the virus outbreak, what happened to us?
On the verge of the challenge brought by this virus, life cannot stop. We must find a way to at least eat three times a day or wait for ration. Our goverment along with affected countries had declared restrictive measures, such as lockdown, work from home, or home quarantine, to contain the pandemic at a local level. But with all these safety measures implemented, COVID-19 cases in the Philippines did not seem to drop but rather still arise. Many questions demand answers, did our authorities failed to take the situation seriously or we, Filipinos made our ways and strategies to not abide by the restrictive measures and had spread the virus to ourselves? With this continuing rise of COVID-19 cases, many Filipinos lost their loved ones without even a proper burial, many positive carriers admitted have recovered but still, there are patients fighting against a virus that until now has no cure.
With all the stake to fight for our lives against this virus, many Filipinos sacrificed themselves to be the nations' front liners in implementing the restrictive measures and protocols with all the terrifying consequences that they may be the ones exposed to virus carriers. Weary days and sleepless nights were nurtured by all medical workers, police force, and authorities. Many doctors and nurses have died all with their calling to stop COVID-19 and still we wait as we cannot help ourselves.
This virus affected all aspects of our modern living. Economically, all public and private establishments were paralyzed and still coping for their lost revenue and rattled supply chain because of many factories shutting down. Many Filipinos lost their jobs with the question of how are they gonna live, how are they going to survive a few more months. The transportation system was also affected as it was a key factor in the nation to stop the spread of the virus to different provinces in the country. International and local flights and sea transportation are held while land transportation was paralyzed. Many public transportation drivers cried for financial support because of their loss in daily income that was just enough to feed their families. This pandemic has disrupted the economy of all countries all over the world. The philippine budget was put on stake, still, the government is striving so hard to financially support all families especially those who lost their jobs and also those who are displaced from their job. And as the new school year is fast approaching, how do students teach themselves when back at the school they cannot even fully understand their teachers. Not all students can afford an internet connection let alone personal gadgets. Right now, learning is troubled between modular and online classes, with the hope that this virus to stop soon.
This epidemic challenges humanity's survival system, demands to push everyone to their limits and serves us questions of uncertainty that only we can answer. "What are we living for?" "What are the important things right now?" Are we waiting for the unproven vaccine? Are we waiting for our Christmas wish and ask this virus to end? Or are we going to discipline ourselves and observe our personal hygiene? Because our lives right now have limits. We have been given rules if we want to survive, all we can do is to follow, be disciplined, and pray that we can celebrate Christmas just like the past years, without this virus.
We can overcome this problem