It’s been more than two years since the coronavirus pandemic stopped our world, especially here in the Philippines where a poor-quality government’s pandemic response sent us back into our homes and our economy backwards for a longer period than other nations which were blessed with better and more decisive leaders.
However, despite our late but strict lockdown and quarantine policies, COVID-19 has not yet been defeated and the threat of infection still remains at the back of our minds, especially as the National Capital Region once again experiences a trend of rising infections. The nationwide vaccination effort remains stuck whilst improved ventilation remains an afterthought.
Unfortunately for Filipinos, we thought everything was already starting to look good once the useless face shield mandate was lifted and the terminologies for mobility restrictions changed from the still incomprehensible “ECQ-MEQC-GQC-MGCQ” alphabet soup to the simpler alert level system.
The situation is much better now, and while our lives have mostly returned to some sort of “normal,” the pandemic remains a constant threat that looms over our society. Except for the City of Bacolod that was able to easily hit its immunization target because of its leadership, most of the country was unable to achieve herd immunity, making us still vulnerable to COVID.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still uncomfortable in air-conditioned spaces. The food court of the city’s busiest mall still gives me the heebie jeebies. Going outside my bubble when meeting old friends or restarting my kids’ social development that was stunted for almost 3 years is still a concern because we have not yet licked COVID which means a potential surge is always waiting to explode.
But we carry on because life doesn’t wait for the pandemic to stop. Aside from us wasting so much time being cooped up inside, too many others have simply run out of time while we tried to wait this pandemic out. I’m not a social guy but I have friendships that can’t be nurtured by zoom drinking sessions alone. My kids need to learn how to deal with people in the real world and as parents, we have to weigh the risks as we start rebuilding their face-to-face friendships and relationships with the outside world. There are siblings and cousins, nephews and nieces, and even aging parents, titos and titas that we haven’t seen in 2-3 years. We just have to find the safest way to do it.
For people like me who puts more value on ventilation than obsessive alcohol usage, outdoor activities are the best way to socialize these days. That is what I encourage my kids to do when they ask to spend time with their formerly online friends. Being outdoors or in places with great ventilation is the best way to prevent being infected by a virus like COVID. And since great ventilation is basically non-existent or difficult to confirm, outdoors is our go to venue.
The problem with outdoors is that aside from COVID, we also have a near-epidemic of dengue fever right now. And since dengue is spread through mosquitoes, which are mostly outdoors, it’s like we are being forced to be anti-social animals these days. When socializing or catching up with friends, staying indoors means risking COVID but being outdoors also risks dengue. It’s like we can’t just catch a break when it comes to our attempts to cure being antisocial.
COVID or dengue, we have no choice but to deal with it. Staying in lockdown or quarantine is always an option, but for most of us, we have already lost more than 2 years to the coronavirus. Vaccination always helps of course, as both of these deadly and infectious disease already have vaccines. But if you are already vaccinated and still want to stay protected, then keeping in mind the necessary precautions and health protocols for the risks we are trying to manage will help.
For COVID, that means prioritizing ventilation and mask wearing, especially when indoors and in air-conditioned spaces. Choosing outdoor venues for socialization is also better, especially when food and drinks are involved, which means face masks are off.
For the great outdoors, where the Aedes aegypti mosquito can roam and spread dengue, keeping those surroundings clean and stagnant water free is a must, especially when company is expected. Along with that ubiquitous alcohol bottle, mosquito repellant should also be in the bag.
The other choice is to keep staying home and stay away from people and/or mosquitoes.*
