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It Only Takes One Case To Realize That the Pandemic Is Far From Over

But the bigger question is, do people think the same way I do?

Photo by Tim Trad on Unsplash

I am writing this story in Manila, and the biggest story to come out at the start of the new year is that new cases are rising, which leads to the government imposing stricter rules come Monday.

Nobody escapes

Omicron, the newest variant of the coronavirus, is here and in many cities worldwide. The numbers are in the hundreds of thousands of new cases each day in the US.

Flights leading to the holiday have been canceled, with many Americans waiting to be reunited with their families. But, unfortunately, when we are about to call it the end of the pandemic, it continues to rear its ugly head, reminding us that it isn't over yet.

Even in 2022.

We let our guards down, especially when we don't hear as much about it in our communities or we don't know the people who are getting sick by their name.

There was a time in 2021 when I felt anxious opening Facebook because day after day, I know someone who got sick, or the Newsfeed appears to be a lengthy obituary, of people posting they have lost someone they love from the virus that has already claimed millions of lives across the world.

With the vaccines already here, most of us believe that by the end of 2021, we can all claim that the nightmare of the pandemic is all behind us, and yet, it never ends.

From where I am, movement will again be limited. Lucky for me that the work that I do is writing on a laptop which I can do very well at home, but in a country already hurting from the effects of a typhoon just before Christmas, a lot of people don't have the same luxury and need to work each day, outside of their homes.

A few days ago, one of the stories that took social media is of a young woman who flew from the US to Manila, only to skip the quarantine procedures and party with her friends. Days later, she tested positive.

She has been named, vilified, and could face legal problems as some of her friends have already tested sick, and public opinion of her is, should I say, very unfavorable.

In a country where there is a big disparity in the economic classes, the woman was even quoted that the reason she was able to skip quarantine is because of her connections, or basically because of who she is, which follows how much money her family has, which further translates to she can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants.

Final words.

On one of the few occasions that I went out, someone reminded me to take off my face mask while I spoke because he couldn't hear me correctly, and because I didn't want to be seen as too paranoid, I did take it off, and it made me very uncomfortable.

I have to remind myself that the health protocols I follow are for my good. I still wear a face mask, wash my hands regularly, avoid crowded places and even limit my face-to-face meetings, sadly, even with my friends.

Not that I fear being sick, but because I can't afford to be sick, and I'm not only speaking about how costly it is to be ill but at my age, being sad tears down my body.

I don't know how long will I have to stay this way, but the next time someone questions my health protocols, I need to step away for my sanity.

The world is different, and to survive, we have to do what we have to do until we can all say goodbye to the pandemic.

What is important is to stay safe and to stay healthy.

Health
Psychology
Self
Omicron
Travel
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