Chronicle of Angels and Demons in the Time of Covid-19 (Last of two parts)

By Hip Mama

“There are hidden blessings in every situation – Let us embrace generosity, selflessness and a calm caution as we navigate this strange time…together.” — Sarah Eckermann, Sente’

Volunteerism has shown its many colors – soliciting medical supplies, ingeniously crafting PPE, distributing food packs and groceries to families in community quarantine, and supporting frontliners with transportation, prayers, and basic needs. Clearly, this unseen but clear and present danger is being fought with kindness, concern, and genuine selflessness on all fronts.

Already, even as the numbers of those infected are showing an alarming rise, with news about reinfection and possibly a second wave from Wuhan, people have started hanging Christmas lanterns – like a beacon of hope in the midst of crisis.

With alcohol now out-of-stock, people, including Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto have gotten ingenious with using chlorine. Three DJI MG-1P octocopter drones sprayed this disinfecting solution over the city. He has also ensured rice supply and distributed Vitamin C and Vitamin B. The Manila City Government with Isko Moreno at the helm ordered hotels and motels to provide accommodation to health workers for free and ensured the safe journey of health workers to and from hospitals during the lockdown period by hiring e-tricycles.

Mayor Marcy Teodoro of Marikina is waiting to have its COVID-19 testing laboratory approved. A Marikina initiative, it has already been inspected by DOH and is the only local testing center to date and will accept even non-Marikina residents from nearby towns and cities like Antipolo. There are quarantine facilities for patients coming for testing and dormitory facilities for the health workers.

In Western Visayas, Dr. Ferj Biron donated 20,000 surgical masks, 10,000 more head

covers, 2,000 N95 MASKS, and 500 COVID 19 test kits for distribution to hospitals in the city and province of Iloilo – with more coming! What this means is that the Province of Iloilo does not need to jockey for supplies. The Western Visayas Medical Center Hospital is completing proficiency and certifying requirements in a week’s time – a boon to this region that already chalked-up 2 deaths. The donated kits are confirmatory so hopefully, it bypasses the need for RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine).

Donations come in many sizes, ways and forms: Manny Pacquiao’s donation of 600,000 face masks to COVID-19 frontliners, San Miguel Corporation’s nutribuns, McDonald’s food packs, and more. Even Jack Ma of Alibaba donated 50,000 coronavirus testing kits on top of China’s 100,000 kits and donations from other countries! ABS-CBN despite its beleaguered status, aired

“Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” a from-home concert for a cause and successfully raised nearly P237-M for families hit by COVID-19 sans frills of high-technology! Almost all schools including Poveda are actively raising funds.

To date, P377,000 has been raised for purchasing medical supplies distributed to the following hospitals: Rizal Medical Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital, Lung Center of the Philippines, Makati Medical Center, The Medical City, Philippine General Hospital, and Quirino Memorial Medical Center Without a doubt many more stories like these are there for the telling as angels literally multiply in our midst.  This is not saying that everyone has been at their best behavior. In the Philippines, COVID-19 has struck us unprepared and no matter how we mitigate the situation, it is an uphill drive that exhausts funds, resources, and human capital. Even a sick dog instinctively lies still to conserve energy and heal.

Yet, the Communist Party has declined the Philippine government’s offer for a ceasefire! Fighting as One is inclusive, regardless of ideology. I get it, we are free to blame, to bash, and to ridicule – but in these critical times, let those be well-thought out with a sincere desire to improve services and flatten the curve. Further depleting government monies to fight insurgents at this time is treason.

Resources, specifically the testing kits are expensive, limited in number, and should be used only when there is a strong recommendation to do so – yet, some VIP politicians and members of their families who were neither symptomatic or exposed to known cases had asap testing ahead of our doctor who needed it more. To date, only one, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, apologized for this preferential treatment in his tweet about ignoring the “protocol and triage algorithm set by the DOH.” We also decry the shameful posturing of some people in government who don’t actually “walk-the-talk”, except when in front of the cameras.

As infuriating are those who have not experienced Martial Law blithely comparing the current situation with what we had back then. Yes, we had a curfew and travel bans but circumstances were different. It behooves me how people can be so petty and complain that this is a violation of rights. A major irritant or source of amusement, depending what side of the bed you woke up on is hoarding! This and the increase in the prices of commodities caused chaos even when there was assurance that basic goods would be available – I could never figure out why toilet paper became such a hot buy when it’s not even edible or medicinal!

The concerts being held with the audience squeezed together as well as hedonistic spring breakers partying at the beach like there was no tomorrow, may result in just that – NO TOMORROW! Any socially responsible person can see that cooperation is essential during this time; going around when you have no legitimate business to do so is akin to having unprotected sex when you have no idea whether you are HIV positive. With our frontliners unable to come home because they are at their posts, the least we could do is to stay home so we don’t add to the viral burden. By being where we should be, the lives we save may be theirs and not just ours.

 

Living an Abundant Life During Quarantine

Contrary to what those softened by the easy life claim, there is much that can be done while confined in the home, aside from spring cleaning, washing clothes, eating, sleeping, binging Netflix ad nauseum, training your dog, and bickering with your spouse or kids as a result of cabin fever. Obviously, those with power, Internet connection, and gadgets have the advantage.

 

1. USE TECHNOLOGY SMARTLY to connect with workmates or manage projects using Slack with it’s interactive screen-sharing capability . Conferences (such as those held in the Senate or Congress) can be held using Skype, Zoom, Google Meet or Amazon Chime which are efficient and can be recorded. In fact, aside from being able to skirt the issue of exposure totally, it would be less expensive, incur no travel time, and ensure better attendance.

 

2. LEARN and hopefully, EARN.

Right and left, companies are sacrificing revenue in an effort to ease the economic impact of being quarantined. Aside from the hold on mortgage and credit card payments and extension of due dates on utilities, some online companies like 21 Accents are offering free courses so those at home can learn or hone a skill to use post COVID days. Massive open online course providers (with links to international universities) like Udemy, Coursera, and EdX as well as the more basic Future Learn and Khan Academy offer free, highly in-demand, certificate courses that can be a stepping stone whether in quarantine or not.

 

3. ENJOY and SHARE ART.

In isolation, we have rediscovered ourselves and reached out to the God of our understanding. We comforted each other in the face of chaos; even jesting with witticisms to keep us sane. Today, as we get more creative with how to spend enforced downtime, artists are holding digital concerts singing John Lennon’s “Imagine”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, and “We are the World”, the anthem sung by the supergroup USA for Africa 35 years ago to fight hunger.

Galleries are opening-up collections for a virtual audience, movies and are streamed for free, and artists like Stephanie Hilado Lindaya are creating pieces of work that will engage children (and their parents) with the hope that the fear is blunted somewhat. She has generously made it available for downloading from her Facebook site. Coloring is therapeutic – perfect for the post-traumatic stress disorder that we are all suffering from to a certain extent!

 

4. USE CREATIVITY and RESOURCES PRODUCTIVELY .

In upstate N.Y.C., the husband and wife team running Bellman Industries created prototypes for medical equipment (headgear and masks) using 3D technology. Once perfected, they shared this knowledge to connections in social media who are also into 3D printing. Their collective effort resulted in over 2,000 PPE delivered to various hospitals that were suffering from a shortage within hours!

In Negros, t he ever creative Millie Kilayko , our equivalent to the late Gina Lopez, marshalled volunteers to create PPE for distribution. Johanna and Ctoy Tano scored the Internet for DIY models and fashioned hers with Bible verses. In Iloilo, PJ Aranador , shifted gears from high fashion to creating washable masks that were treated prior to distribution.

Mega-successful entrepreneur Joanne Visitacion who rents out tents at posh events have made these available gratis to volunteer groups engage in these activities.

 

5. TEND YOUR GARDEN

How often have you heard that food is medicine, and medicine is food? Now is the time

to practice just that. It may be late in the day to harvest produce but it is never too late to

plant. If you have a bit of land, you’re in luck. If you have less space but have some lad to

spread around in DIY pots like plastic soda or water bottles, stick in onion, garlic,

tomatoes, any my favorite quick growers – malunggay, alugbati, and camote.

 

Clinical Trials: A Sliver of Hope

“But my darling, there’s no such thing as the light at the end of the tunnel, you must realize that you are the light.” – Anonymous | You Are the Light

Our hope rises with every news of recovery and no new incidence reported for the day. We stayed glued to our TV sets when President Donald Trump announced in one of the White House briefings that the combination of chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug and azithromycin, an antibiotic is promising in reducing both the duration and symptoms of COVID-19. Though supported by a small clinical trial in France, the data is not enough and the treatment protocol has not yet been approved. This time, the antiviral and antibiotic trials involving chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin alone or in combination are set to start in the U.S. on Tuesday, March 24. President Trump is optimistic – as we all are!

By far, the best news we’ve heard so far was the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NHI) announcement last March 16 that the Phase 1 clinical trials for investigational coronavirus vaccine on humans have begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHR) in Seattle.

We cope, we grieve, and we struggle. For those of us who survived pneumonia and other grave diseases, each day without COVID-19 is a bonus. For those in their homes right now, cherish those you love and hold them near. Tell stories. Thank and forgive. Discover each other’s wisdom. Laugh much, eat more, dance with a passion, and sing even if you are off-key. Prayer and Love — the alpha and omega in the time of COVID 19.

Lockdown

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares,

keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know

is busy spreading fliers with her number

through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples

are preparing to welcome

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able

to touch across the empty square,

Sing.

– Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM

March 13th 2020

 

Artwork by Sharmon Davidson

From Yeshe’s Garden

Photo of Three Doctors from the Philippine Shocking Society

Coloring Artwork by Stephanie Hilado Lindaya

Clinical Trials on COVID – 19:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=COVID-19&term=&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=