‘WE LASTED COVID’: COVID-19 survivors share discrimination, isolation experiences

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Survivors of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Western Visayas on Friday shared their struggles in dealing with the news about the virus, being in isolation, and the reactions of people around them.

Aldin Yasol from Malinao, Aklan, and Kaye Jie Blanco from Talisay City, Negros Occidental, on Friday appeared in Isyung Bakuna, an online series by the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) and the Philippine Information Agency-Region 6.

Yasol, who had been working at a cruise ship when the pandemic began, was stuck in Manila for almost five months as a Locally Stranded Individual (LSI) but was eventually allowed to go home to Aklan in July 2020.

As he and his family members were preparing their documents to go home, Tasol had runny nose, cough, and sore throat. He knew these were symptoms of COVID-19, but ignored them as they quickly went away.

But after another LSI yielded positive results in the rapid COVID test, all of them were swab-tested by the local government unit (LGU) and he was the only one who tested positive for COVID-19.

Yasol became the first confirmed COVID-19 case in his hometown, and the second confirmed LSI case in the entire province. He stayed at the Aklan Training Center in Kalibo for one month.

In isolation, he became more concerned about his family, including the discrimination they faced, the well-being of his mother who had also contracted the disease, and the economic impact of the pandemic.

Yasol said his father cannot come out of their house because their family took the heat for logging COVID-19 cases in their town. His siblings were not allowed to work because of their relation.

But he looked past the discrimination by understanding the community’s viewpoint that they were also looking after themselves out of fear of catching COVID-19 in their households.

The discrimination died down as he and his mother remained in home quarantine for 15 days in another house after being healed.

“I was really thinking about my mother because she was infected by me, so there were already two of us in our town who had COVID. So there was all this discrimination, bad comments against us from our environment especially from our neighbors, it was unacceptable. But as an optimistic person, I thought that they were just thinking about themselves, because at the time, when someone is positive for COVID, you will get the heat because there were only a few cases in Aklan before many LSIs started to go home,” Yasol said.

While in isolation, he thought about his community and decided that he will only go home when he was fully cleared.

“I really waited for the negative result because I was thinking about the townsfolk, especially in our area because we had three senior citizens at home and many children. I told myself that I would be okay suffering alone instead of many of them, because it would be difficult especially if the children become positive. That was the difficulty given by the pandemic, not only for me, but the whole world,” he said.

DISBELIEF

Blanco is a 38-year-old mother to a 12-year-old boy. She is also a center head for a non-governmental organization helping rehabilitate sexual abuse survivors.

Blanco said she could not believe that she contracted COVID-19.

She said she was confident that she would not test positive for the disease, even after being exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case.

Like Yasol, her concerns were more about the people around her, fearing that she may have infected them.

She agreed that entertaining the stress brought by the discrimination and negativity would kill her first before the virus itself.

“I wasn’t scared or worried for myself, but I cried because I was nervous for the people who were exposed to me, like my family, workmates, and the girls I tended to in the rehabilitation center I am working in. I was really nervous about the fact the somebody may be infected because of me. I really couldn’t believe I tested positive for COVID, but when it came out I didn’t have any control over it, that was the result,” Blanco said.

She was proud, nevertheless, as her family were the “troopers” who stayed under home quarantine and stocked up on vitamins after she went into isolation at the province’s “Yolanda” housing project.

“I was really blessed because at that time because my family were real troopers, who were positive-minded. My father told me not to cry. At that time, we only talked through phone calls because I couldn’t go home, and my family went under home quarantine and at the same time stocked up on vitamins, and then coordinated with the authorities for their swabbing. My family took it well, and it really helped me to recover from the shock,” she said.

 

COPING AND LESSONS

Yasol and Blanco also shared how they coped while in isolation.

They indulged in prayers and other activities to keep themselves busy and took note of the lessons they got from the experience.

Yasol started paying attention to his physical health after he tested positive in his second swab test by exercising, eating healthy food, and taking vitamins.

He added that he turned off his phone, which also helped his mental health since he wasn’t able to access his messages and social media accounts.

“I do exercise every morning, going under the sun at 9:00 a.m., gargling water with salt when I wake up, drinking tea with ginger, garlic, and calamansi after breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then I drink multivitamins twice a day. For the third time that I tested, it came out negative. Prayer really is number one because I couldn’t be better without prayer. My faith strengthened while in isolation,” he said.

Yasol said the lesson he learned while in isolation was the importance of family as the presence of his parents throughout his isolation encouraged him to stay instead of returning to his work.

At present, he currently owns a milk tea business in their town, which he was able to put up with support from government assistance, private donations, and his sister who currently works in Taiwan.

“I realized that my family will always be there, even if your neighbors and cousins leave you because of COVID. In what happens in our life, the family is always there and will never leave you, so love your family, especially your parents while they are alive, because their lives are short and we cannot replace that when they leave,” he said.

Blanco said she “lifted up her praises to the Lord” while in isolation, and also spent her time being entertained by listening to K-pop music and watching shows and movies on streaming services.

She also “looked at things which I can be grateful for”, exuding “happy and positive vibes” and not to dwell in negativity. She also cited the people she met in isolation and the medical frontliners who attended to them.

“There was great agony on my part waiting, so I prayed in turn that my family would be negative. Aside from prayers, because I knew I would be bored while in isolation, so I [listened to] K-pop especially BTS and it helped me a lot, of course Netflix was a big help. I also brought some unfinished work because I didn’t want to waste time and I was physically able, so why not use the time?” Blanco said.

From her experience, she realized how short life was by quoting a Bible phrase saying death was “like a thief in the night”. She echoed Yasol’s point that people should value the important persons in their lives.

She also realized that many people in workplaces and communities are still not well-informed about the COVID-19 pandemic, even after a year.

“This is the perfect time for us to really value every single day that we are given to spend with our loved ones, especially our family because we will never know when our time is up. Aside from that, another takeaway from what had happened to me is that many people aren’t still educated on how to deal with or react to people who tested positive for COVID. Since my case was fairly recent, I thought that people were more welcoming and more understanding, but then again I think that’s one thing which was overlooked,” Blanco said.