How the Coronavirus Has Forced Me to Finally Get Back to Writing

It is a few minutes after midnight as I am writing this, and what a day it was. Today we woke up to find that the whole of Luzon, the Philippines's biggest island, is under "Enhanced Community Quarantine" which basically means that the apocalypse has reached our doorsteps. Or at least it feels that way. Watching news updates all day looking at hysterical commuters who were stranded on the way to or from work certainly didn't help. Then there were interviews with daily wage earners who won't be able to work and were wondering how they could feed themselves if this continues for weeks or months. There was chaos at the airport with crowds of people trying to get out of the country before a total ban on flights will be put in place, but just one look at so many angry and crying faces means that many of them may fail to get out on time. 

What is "Enhanced Community Quarantine" anyway? For one, all forms of public transportation have now been suspended. No buses, no taxis, no trains, no jeepneys (those iconic square-nosed minibuses plying Philippine roads). People are being told to stay at home except when buying food or medicine, or unless they work for essential services such as health care, banks or government offices. Only one person per household is allowed to go for a grocery run, too. Those without cars have to coordinate with barangay officials regarding transportation to the city markets (a barangay is the smallest government unit in the Philippines which translates more or less to 'village' or 'district'). Well, at least that's what the guidelines say on paper.  In reality, I don't think my barangay even has its own car but I could be wrong, of course. 

Shops and establishments are closed except for grocery stores, pharmacies and shops providing basic needs and services. Private companies are being told to either cancel work, have employees work from home or arrange shuttle services and even accommodation for their employees.

Even though classes have been canceled since last week, the total lockdown has caught many people unprepared. It feels like we were already clunking along on a broken-down bus and then somebody turns off the engine while we're still in the middle of nowhere. Well, this literally happened to those who have had to walk ten hours or more to get home because they went to work one day and then there was suddenly no bus, no nothing, to ride home when they got off their shift. Despite the fact that we have been watching lockdowns unfold on foreign shores, it still feels unreal to suddenly be the one to experience it. It goes to show what one cannot really grasp a certain situation until one is in it.

But I'm not trying to blame anyone, especially the government, although obviously early warnings about a lockdown would certainly have helped. Knowing how scarce the country's resources are healthwise, I can understand that this is the government's only option--to forcibly limit the mobility of people, and consequently the virus, before we have a full-blown epidemic in our hands. Nip it in the bud before it becomes the uncontrollable monster that would eliminate us all.  

Yet even with this understanding, I find it hard to quell the panic that is rising at the back of my throat. We have about enough food to last us a week, maybe we can stretch it to a week and a half. Then what? Then one of us will have to do grocery runs. We may have to subsist on instant food such as noodles and canned goods if we can't buy fresh produce. We will have to ration food supplies and be extra careful not to waste any morsel. I should have planted the romaine lettuce seeds in the pots in my balcony weeks ago! I take a deep breath and try to ease the knot in my stomach.

Things are not all bad. It is actually at this time that I am most grateful for the fact that I work from home. I am blessed that everyday is still work as usual for me while many are worrying about getting nothing on the next payday. 

The thing is, I am a person who likes walking. A lot. Walking for me is the spark for free-flowing thought and it is something I need to do on a daily basis. Obviously, that won't be happening any time soon. This is just the first day of the lockdown. There are still four, long weeks ahead. And so here I am trying to find a place to roam and I have found myself opening this long-dormant and empty blog. I feel like I've just opened a long-unused gate and now I'm looking at wide, gray space. It's a good enough space to explore, no matter that it's just digital space. It will have to do. Now that I have nowhere to walk to, nowhere to run away to, and nowhere to escape, it is my fingers that will have to do the walking for me.

​And that's how the coronavirus has finally forced me to get back to writing. It has taken a crisis to make me write my first blog on this website. I am both elated and sad. ​