THESE are difficult times, I know, and health workers and those rendering allied services are stretched. But this is an appeal for just a little bit more compassion.
As I already said, my siblings and I were in line at the drive-thru free Covid swab at Croc Park last May 25 after we were taggged by safedavao QR code the day before for being in the hotel facility at the time when an unknown person who tested positive of Covid was around. It’s the first time for all of us. We were there at 6:30 a.m. and were already just around 150 meters from the entrance from the Diversion Road. The free swabbing was to open at 8 a.m. An hour before closing time at 11 a.m., we were still more than a street length away, while to our left were people leaving, apparently done with their swabs, vehicle-less from a facility that was supposed to be drive-thru. Just as we were maybe ten cars away, we were told that swabbing has ended.
That’s okay, that’s what we get for free services in an overwhelmed government. I finally decided to pay for my swab because I didn’t want to go through the agony of waiting again and fighting for my right to be served for free.
I got my results Friday, May 28, 24 hours after the paid swab. It was Negative. Hurray.
A friend who was also tagged by safedavao QR had his free swab the Saturday before we lined up. He messaged me on what to do since he has not received any result nor has he been given any instructions, seven long days after. The numbers given in the text were also not ringing.
I got the text on a Monday triggering anxiety. I’m lucky I live alone, the thought of having exposed someone else in my household is not among my concerns. I’m lucky I am not working in an office and need not worry about my co-workers. I’m lucky I was turned away and had the option (and money) to go to a private swab center. My friend has his wife and only daughter living with him. The fear that they might have got a whiff of the virus all throughout the time he was texted to the long wait for the result that never came was there even if their house is big. And the phones that would have been his lifeline were never answered.
Another friend got a Negative but her parents were allegedly Positive. The elders were being picked up for isolation but those picking the alleged patients up did not have the test results to show. Even criminals had to be shown a warrant, but apparently not with allegedly “confirmed Covid patients”. The family was accused of refusing to surrender their patients and were threatened with arrests by the police. Except that... the police were talking with a former policewoman who knows how important documents are when you take a person from his home.
The sad part is... we’re not even on an unmanageable level. It’s going to get worse if the numbers continue to rise and the hapless will be made even more helpless. The tagged will be quivering in their homes unsure of tomorrow, while the the abusive becomes more abusive. Sad.
Compassion, please. The President cannot be the only compassionate person in this pandemic.
saestremera@gmail.com