I try to avoid trite phrases like a plague, but I guess it’s always darkest before the dawn. Or maybe things just get worse before they get better?
Well, I am kidding for the most part. I’ve continued to be inconvenienced in a pain in the ass kind of way, but lots of people are truly beginning to feel the hurt from this so-called quarantine. I got my first “I’m hungry” message this morning from one of the bar girls at Alley Cats. I know she has an infant and a couple of other kids at home as well. I advised her to visit her Barangay office, they are supposed to be providing assistance to those in need. I’d throw her a little cash but she’s on the far side of Castillejos and there is really no convenient way to get it to her. I just share this point to keep my so-called problems in perspective.
Anyway, I had my driver come pick me up for some grocery shopping at the WalterMart in Subic town. I wanted to drop my laundry off but the shop owner told me she was being forced to close. So I guess my clothes are going to have to be cleaned the old-fashioned way–by hand. Using the hands of my domestic helpers of course. Oh well.
Donnie driver dropped me off and had me walk through the checkpoint going into Subic. Apparently they question more than one person in a vehicle. I passed through on foot with only a temperature check–36c. I guess that makes me cooler than normal. We arrived at the grocery store about twenty minutes before it opened and joined the queue at the main door.
Inside the shopping mall, all the shops were closed except for the drug store and the grocery store. There were only letting like fifteen customers inside the WalterMart at a time. The rest of us lined up waiting our turn our enter.
This was my first time inside the WalterMart grocery. It was okay I suppose. Wasn’t real impressed with the fresh veggies available and decided to buy my meat at the market in Barretto. Picked up about a hundred bucks worth of stuff though, including a case of beer.
I walked through the checkpoint again on the way home and Barretto didn’t care enough to take my temperature. Once I offloaded the groceries, I hoofed it over to the Barretto Barangay office to find out about getting one of those quarantine passes. They asked where I lived and I told them Alta Vista. Someone knew that part of the subdivision is in the San Isidro Barangay, but I told them my Alien ID Card says I live in Barretto. I was told that they are being delivered one card per household and I’d have to wait for a delivery. They did take my phone number.
So, the Barangay also confirmed that the “enhanced quarantine” will escalate to a “lockdown” effective Monday. Apparently you can’t be outside without the pass and only then for food and meds. I’m somewhat concerned because I can’t actually exit Alta Vista without entering Barretto. I’ve heard nothing at all from San Isidro (a small and very rural Barangay) about what procedures they are using to issue the passes. I’ll probably need to go by the office in San Isidro and inquire if I can’t finagle a pass from Barretto. Oh boy, at least I won’t go hungry for a while.
We’ll see what happens as things progress. I don’t want to be a jackass about it, but I can be stubborn as a mule if need be. Or deported.
“Walter Mart.” Too funny. Well, I’m glad you’re stocking up on the things that matter. Maybe we’ll get some more foodblogging out of you.
Still no lockdown in South Korea, but I saw that Governor Newsom, in California, has ordered all 40 million Californians to shelter at home. As far as I know, nothing the ROK government has done has had the force of an outright order, but there is undoubtedly a great deal of social pressure on people to do “the right thing,” whatever that might be. For example, when some church group selfishly insists on having in-person worship services, the larger community gets pissed off, and that anger is what keeps people in line. Otherwise, though, the local groceries aren’t forming long lines; there’ve been no shortages of any kind (except of masks, but those are sold at pharmacies). I haven’t checked out the local restaurants to see how business has been; some local cafes look way emptier than usual, giving the neighborhood a kind of subdued feeling. But life feels mostly normal, just lower key. I have no trouble catching a cab or riding a subway; buses (which I haven’t ridden since the outbreak, and normally never ride, anyway) seem to be running at their usual frequency; the machinery of society continues to grind on, albeit at a more sedate pace.
If things become unlivable in the PI, I’m sure the people will make their voices heard. As one article says:
“The encouraging news, for now at least, is that the coronavirus does not appear to be as deadly as the seasonal flu in terms of sheer numbers. Based on CDC estimates—again, important to note that even the detection of influenza-caused hospitalizations and deaths is not an exact science—between 36 and 52 million Americans have contracted the flu since last October and anywhere between 22,000 and 55,000 have died.
While the number of detected coronavirus cases continues to rise due to widespread testing, about 150 people reportedly have died from the infection. Nearly half lived in the state of Washington; many states are reporting single-digit fatalities. Further, hospitals are not yet overrun with coronavirus patients and, according to the CDC, hospitalizations this year due to the flu “is lower than end-of-season total hospitalization estimates for any season since CDC began making these estimates.” Good news if indeed the number of coronavirus sufferers requiring hospitalization actually materializes.”
Yeah, South Korea does seem to be doing it right. From my Facebook feed, I see the bars in Itaewon are still open for business, but a friend who bartends says business is slow. The hotel where she works as a housekeeper has cut her back to two days per week due to lack of occupancy.
I read about Newsome and things happening in other locales that seem eerily similar to the measures being taken here. Yeah, the traffic is way down, maybe 3/4 lower than normal. Every business other than food, water, or meds related has been forced to close. People are in dire straights already and this is the first week. I fear it is going to get ugly soon enough.
So, hopefully the Wuhan virus will be much less damaging than predicted. My gut feeling is that these prevention measures are both an overreaction and will be largely ineffective. But what do I know?
MY thoughts are that a lot of pretty educated people worldwide much smarter than I are scared shitless over this virus. So, I am tending to think/prepare for the worse and don’t think we are over reacting.
I would much rather look back six months from now and think we may have over reacted rather than really really being in trouble because we didn’t do what we could have done.
I just think of a scenario where the area hospital has 10 ICU beds and I am (or my parents or a close friend or whoever) is patient 11.
Brian, those are fair considerations. I’m certainly not subscribing to any of the conspiracy theories involving government plots or any such nonsense. It just seems to me that some of these prevention measures are counterproductive and the only purpose they serve is to create the appearance of doing something.
Time will tell how bad this all turns out to be. I do agree that prudence and taking precautions as an individual are warranted. Stay healthy!
Were 500 Italians a day dying due to seasonal flu this winter? Don’t think so.
This thing definitely has unknown unknowns which makes it a lot funkier than seasonal flu.
That “I’m hungry” call must have been sobering. Your social circle is going to come under all kinds of pressure. Be wise in being kind…
Dan, I’m not saying the Wuhan virus is something to take lightly, but some of these measures being implemented are draconian and really make no sense at all. I just don’t see how throwing people out of work with no safety net and then locking them down in the homes to starve is going to end well. I’m already much more situationally aware when I’m out on the street. At some point, my neighbors are likely to be more dangerous than the virus!