NEVER in our wildest dreams did we think that waking up to see the sun and breathing every morning is such a huge blessing. Nowadays, being able to respire during the pandemic, to draw air into and expel out of the lungs, is something to be sincerely thankful about.
On the other side of the hemisphere, getting an adequate and goodnight sleep is also an absolute luxury. To be able to get a negative test result for Covid-19 happens to be the most positive thing that could happen in a day. With the current situation we are all facing, it’s understandably safe to say that things are not going back the same way anytime soon.
Almost every day for the past couple of weeks, notifications of death have been posted on social media as if the app has become a new informal obituary. Pitch-dark profile photos, black cover pictures, images of a single lighted candle have flooded the newsfeed. It suddenly became inconvenient for us netizens to comment as we view because at one moment we send a cheerful birthday greeting to a celebrator and then a few scrolls after we send heartfelt condolences to another. These feeds are somewhat playing with our feelings from extreme swings of euphoria and all the way down to depressing state.
Last year, we only learned about high profile people getting infected with the virus but as the pandemic continues to stay, it’s our co-workers, our friends, our family, the persons we really know and care about are the ones who have acquired it.
We may be looking for ways to resume some daily activities but keep in mind that the threat of getting infected is still out there. It’s important to understand the potential risks and learn how to adopt various ways of prevention to help reduce the spread of this coronavirus.
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Kuya J Pelayo IV is a Kapampangan broadcast journalist. For comments and suggestions, e-mail at 4th.pelayo@gmail.com