I was going to buy a book on phobias, but I was afraid it wouldn’t help me.
Well, it’s back to “normal” around here, whatever the hell that is. Got my morning steps in without incident, lots of other folks out and about also doing whatever essential activities that would justify an exception to quarantine.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to rant and rave about the ridiculous restrictions I’m forced to live under. What can I say that I haven’t already said pretty much every day for the past three weeks? Yeah, I’m tired of hearing about it too. You’d think if I were going to get the Wuhan virus I’d have it by now, right? I’ve come up with ten reasons why I’m probably safe:
- The heat. That virus gets exposed to our hot weather and says “fuck this, I’m outta here!
- Vitamin D. I’m out soaking up that sun so much I’d drown any intruding virus in my healthy habits.
- O+ blood. I read somewhere on the internet that my blood type is naturally resistant to virus infection.
- Rabies vaccination. Hey, I recently got the vaccine for the rabies virus and rabies has killed a lot more people than COVID-19 ever did!
- Vaping. Since the virus attacks the respiratory system and my lungs are always filled with vapor, there’s no room to take hold.
- Flatulence. I’m a gassy old fart and I’m pretty sure the virus wouldn’t want to get anywhere near me.
- Beer consumption. Anything that gets in my bloodstream is gonna be too drunk to do any damage.
- Curfew. I’m home every day by 6 p.m. as required. The virus would be bored to death if it infected me.
- Blind luck. I’ve been lucky at just about everything except love. Why stop now?
On a more serious note, people smarter than me (shuddup!) at the University of the Philippines are looking into the way ahead, specifically, as it relates to where do we go come April 30 when the current quarantine restrictions are set to end.
Successful as it may seem, an ECQ [Enhanced Community Quarantine] covering a wide area may not be sustainable over the long run. Prolonged restriction on the movement of goods and services over a large area (i.e. region-wide) can unnecessarily paralyze local economies. In light of this reality, our best recourse after April 30 is to implement graduated activation of ECQ depending on the level of risk in certain areas at a given time. Under this set-up, provinces (or even lower-level LGUs) may be put under ECQ depending on how close or far they are to an estimated outbreak threshold.
And the accompanying exhibit was good news (at least for now) for us folks here in Olongapo:
Is that the light of hope I can see on the horizon? Stay tuned!
In the meantime, I will continue to put my best foot forward.
Now I just need to get through the next ten days anyway I can.
Everyone I know, everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
I don’t know about anyone but me
If it takes all night, that’ll be all right
If I can get you to smile before I leaveLooking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don’t know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
Look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too
Running on, running on empty
Running on, running blind
Running on, running into the sun
But I’m running behind
Less CO2 = Less beer. It’s getting serious.
“Prolonged restriction on the movement of goods and services over a large area (i.e. region-wide) can unnecessarily paralyze local economies.”
This year’s winner of the “No Fucking Shit” prize.
Rascal, he San Miguel brewery has stopped production, I’m not sure if that is why.
Kev, oh as obvious as that finding is, it’s still one of the more sane things currently being talked about. The President says he’ll decide when and how to end the quarantine. I’m not sure sanity will prevail.