If You Care About Your Loved Ones Not To Have COVID-19 Disease, Then Read This
[Note: This is work in progress…]
March 14, 2020. The President of the Philippines issued an order to put NCR (Metro Manila ) under community quarantine. This will last for 30 days, starting from March 15, 2020, until April 14, 2020.
March 16, 2020. Later on, the order was elevated to Enhanced Community Quarantine of the mainland Luzon. As a result, all mass public transportation was suspended and any land, air and sea travel are restricted.
I am not a negative person. But I think this will take longer than 30 days until a cure has not been made yet. So better prepare ourselves. Let’s follow simple instructions like washing our hands and use of alcohol to disinfect, the same old instructions our parents and grandparents told us when we were kids.
More importantly, as much you can, follow social distancing. I know it’s hard but it’s a must.
As per the simulation report, we can help #flattenthecurve of COVID-19 cases by social distancing, far more effective than a lockdown. I recommend to better read the entire report here.
The simulation is based on US current situation. Will it work in the Philippines, who knows? But let’s pray. As they said in the report,
“That is math, not prophecy. The spread can be slowed, public health professionals say, if people practice “social distancing” by avoiding public spaces and generally limiting their movement.”
Let us take our part in helping #flatteningthecurve by consistently following the health advice. Soon, we can overcome this!
For more info about Corona Virus, you can read this article.
Boring Disclaimer: All information above is based on my own understanding. Always, always take any information with a grain of salt. Keep safe!
On The Other Hand…
March 18, 2020
A while ago, my partner decided to buy groceries at the nearest Supermarket. The good thing is though most of the establishments are close, supermarkets are open to the public. We can buy the stuff that we need for the entire week. But there’s a problem.
Since the announcement of Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon, Philippines, there’s no means of public transportation. Only private vehicles are allowed. And for us, who does not have their own car, this will be a challenge. She has to walk to go to the Supermarket. It’s a 2.1 kilometer or 25-minute walk from our apartment. As much as I want to accompany her, I can’t. I am working *office*at home.
At the supermarket, I got a text from her that the line at the cashier was so long. When I check the time, it was 2 hours after she left the house. Damn, that’s was crazy. Even without seeing it, I can imagine how long the line is. So I decided to fetch her up in the Supermarket.
When I arrived at the supermarket, I saw her standing in a different line. She texted me not to talk to her instead to fall in line at the back. I texted her why. And she said, “We will buy alcohol. There is limited stock only. The drugstore will allow One Alcohol Per Person only. You fall in line so that we can have two.” That was it. You get it.
Now, it’s time to walk back home. Another 25-minute walk. Not a bad thing at all. All packed, all good. We got the groceries. We got two alcohol. We got what we need. And we are laughing out loud, eating our favorite Dingdong and Chippy, while walking in an empty, cold street.
March 19, 2020
Since we are under community quarantine, work-at-home becomes an option for us to continue earning an income. Work-At-Home Scheme is not really something new. Due to the internet, there already a lot of Work-At-Home Jobs offered like freelancing, online business, dropshipping, etc. But for us who work in the office cubicle, this will be something new.
Luckily our company, Quantity Solutions Inc, offered us Work-At-Home. The management instructs us to take our laptop at home. We don’t need to travel anymore for work. We don’t need to leave at the comfort of our own house. Our Time In — Time Out is no brainer, since, QSI has its own HRIS (Human Information System) called Clay, developed by our sister company, Dime Data Corporation. Our work accomplishments are recorded through our Project Monitoring System. All is safe in the house.
But just like any adjustments, there are some challenges we have encountered while transitioning from this kind of work-at-home setup — coordination and internet.
Let’s discuss the first coordination. Since most of our work is office-based and involves face-to-face meetings, discussing things online is quite a bit hard. We’re having a hard time coordinating things and following up work activities. As such, we are left with these options:
Video Call Conferencing. There’s a lot of free web-based video communication tools like Zoom, Google Hangouts, the old but goodie Skype. There are many options out there, but you can begin these three.
Group Chat. Or any instant messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Viber, or Slack. Again, there are a lot of free options out there. Currently, most of our conversations are through Viber and for the rest of my team, we have our own Facebook Group Chat. [I advised to have a separate Group Chat dedicated only for work-related topics, talking about Work-Life Balance ha.]
Phone Group Call. The most basic of all. I think most phones right now have this feature. If you want to discuss things, you can use your phone. Just dial the number and add your team.
Again, there is nothing new here. But for my line of work, this is not the usual set-up.
Now, we have to solve the problem of coordination. Let’s go with the next one — the internet. I must admit, the Philippines has poor internet speed. According to Speedtest Global Index, as of January 2020, the Philippines rank 111 in mobile and ranks 99 in Fixed Broadband. To keep it simple, the internet is not reliable.
Though most of us have internet data at home and on our phone, it’s current set-up is not ideal for Work. Personally, I have my own but since it is a plan, data is limited. Unlike, when we are in the office, we don’t have to worry that much about the internet because they have provided it. For now, we have to be contented with Wi-Fi Hotspot from our phone to the laptop. [Sorry boss, for the late email response, the internet in the house is slow! and I need to load later, my internet will expire today.]
But overall, I am still thankful that our management, (Thanks to Sir Rynor and Ma’am Rhea) for allowing us to work-at-home. We are lucky because most fellow Filipinos have No Work, No Pay Policy in their line of work. Though the government and private companies are offering financial assistance, we’ll never know when it will last. Let us cherish and be grateful for whatever blessings we have right now. It might not be the best for now, but it is better for everyone.
Keep safe!
March 20, 2020
Day 5 of Enhanced Community Quarantine, here in Luzon, Philippines. Things are getting more strict as the days go by. The Homeowner’s Association is issuing Enhanced Community Quarantine Pass to residents of Springville, Meadows 2. This serves as your passes to any place you will go to. Without this, you cannot enter or exit the subdivision. I was excited about mine. But to my dismay, only one person is allowed to have the ECQ passes. And it’s Lhou. Not Me. It only means that she and only she can go out of the subdivision. That’s unfair for me but I have to follow instructions. For our safety.
[Note: This is work in progress…]
