I FOUND in my inbox the other day a video of people dancing to bouncy music in what appears to be a street or a small plaza. The merrymaking supposedly took place in Mambaling, which is now in the spotlight because of the number of Covid-19 cases in Alaska, its largest sitio.
It could have happened anywhere else and it would still have been wrong because it violated the rule on social distancing and neither the dancers nor the people who were cheering them wore masks.
Medical experts say the coronavirus principally attacks the lungs. What we have not been told is that it can also compromise the brain. The medical condition is called stress. Not fatal, but it can drive people to exhibit worrisome behavior.
In the video, voices can be heard saying “think positive”, which is obviously a play of the now dreadful words “testing positive.” You can therefore look at the dancing as celebrating the people’s defiance of Covid-19: We will continue to think positive even if we have tested positive for the virus.
Viewed in this light, the dancing can be seen as a positive (if you will pardon the repetition) response to a threat. Still, we cannot ignore the fact that the act of bravado could possibly put them and those that they will come in contact with in harm’s way. Between stress and the virus, between damage to the mind and the lungs, the choice is obvious. But people will take their chances. That’s the nature of the beast.
Last week, a bored businessman slipped into a jacket, retrieved a pair of gloves and ECQ pass and drove his big motorbike to the Trans-Central Highway. He parked his bike in the middle of the road and took a selfie. He later posted his photos on Facebook.
Big mistake. Soon, he was swamped with comments questioning his judgment, including the alleged abuse of his ECQ pass. Poor guy had to explain that the ride to the top was not really an excursion because he went to pick up a puppy and buy sweet corn for the frontliners.
I can’t fault the guy for sneaking out to his old haunt. Between boredom and depression is a rather short distance. Besides, the ECQ pass is intended for necessary travel and could there be greater necessity than a breath of fresh air? His biggest mistake was to park his big bike in the middle of the highway and it was a stupid error of judgment. But come on guys, cut the fellow some slack. He was alone and he wore a helmet so technically, he did not break the rule on social distancing and wearing of a mask.
Our last story revolves around a patient who went to a hospital for debridement of his bed sores. Following hospital protocol, he was preliminarily assessed for coronavirus infection. When the assessment showed that he was probably infected, he was asked to go to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for swab testing.
He refused and instead went to another hospital where he was assigned to an ordinary, not the isolation, room because he did not tell the hospital what happened in the previous one. When the new hospital accidentally stumbled upon his history, nerves frayed but they still had the good sense to have him swabbed.
The results were negative and the patient had his debridement. All’s well that ends well? Not when it involves Covid-19.