Wenceslao: Covid times, 2

THE lockdown in Cebu Province, an act meant to counter the spread of the corona virus (with the ailment officially called Covid-19), started on Monday, March 30, 2020. A lockdown is inconvenient and damages the economy but is necessary considering the nature of the virus. It dies after two weeks or so if unable to jump from one host to another.

Okay, I won’t call it a lockdown but rather use the preferred enhanced community quarantine or ECQ. The ECQ carries with it certain actions done mainly by the government to limit movement of people, the functions of offices and the operation of business establishments and factories. Government officials are therefore the focal point of the action, from the governor and mayors of highly urbanized cities to mayors of component cities down to the barangay councils.

I went out last Tuesday to replenish some supplies in my store. It was already past noon and the heat was beginning to ease so I was ready for some doses of traffic messes along the highway thinking checkpoints would be creating these. But without public utility and many private vehicles, the highway was lonely. Many business establishments were closed although I was still able to buy two sacks of rice plus a few sacks of chicken feed.

I did carry my quarantine pass but I made sure not to go from one local government border to another or pass checkpoints. I did not lengthen my errand but instead went home immediately. In times of uncertainty, it is always good to go back to the safety and comfort of home. But a home can only be comfortable if it has the needed provisions for existence.

I do think there are people who could last a month in this setup but many others would head to some period of uncertainty. I don’t know how SunStar Cebu is adjusting its work schedule but my wife, who is with The Freeman, is doing her task at home. Before this, she and her fellow employees had to be given a ride by the company vehicle. (Sunstar Cebu staff also works at home, I was told, as this column goes directly to the op ed’s email and then to his workstation at home where beer could be in the fridge.)

The government’s admonition for people to stay home can’t be followed for long because it drains the family’s finances. Trisikad and tricycle drivers in our community are home, but for how long can they and their families survive without the income? I myself am worried considering how meager my savings are. As some of my neighbors are asking me, “Unsa na man lang ang kaonon nato? “

That’s why I ask if the actions we are taking to prevent the spread of Covid-19 are proportionate to the threat. It is, according to many, although there will surely be long assessments and summing-up sessions after this. This is the first time we have gone in this direction, so everything will be hit and miss.

There will surely be a separate assessment on the actions of our leaders. As they say, adversity tests the character of leaders. Now they are being exposed for what they really are.