New normal

The current pandemic has definitely changed the new normal.

The face masks, sudden increase in demand for health care and sanitary products, and physical distancing are now the new norm.

Some business have adapted to the change to continue their service. Since most food establishments don’t allow you to eat at the restaurant itself, they have opted for take out or delivery services.

In the wet market, though the volume of people increased and more stalls have opened, rules are still observed. Volunteers go around with megaphones reminding people of physical distancing. The market has only two entrances and two exits (both with disinfecting stalls). The tricycles are only allowed one passenger per vehicle.

In the malls and grocery stores, they check your temperature and spray you with alcohol as you enter the premises. Also physical distancing is greatly encouraged by the management, that they even put stickers and paint on the floor just to show how far from each other people should be special when in queu. There is also a limit to how many peole can go in and out the premises, they limited the number of entrances/ exits to monitor the flow of people.

Since my social skills are low, the physical distancing is not an issue for me. But I do miss going out with my daughter. I admit that me and my family are lucky for we are comfortable despite the pandemic and we also acknowledge that not everyone is in a comfortable situation like we have right now. We have our small ways of helping others but we choose not to show it in our social media accounts.

Unfortunately, part of the new normal is the increase in unemployment and increase in people who beg for food in the streets. In addition to this, people have become more anxious and desperate, because of different reasons - loss of employment and means to provide for the family, being stranded in a different area/province, being far away from your love ones, strict rules that limits once movements and other reasons.

The most unfortunate of all these are the instances where people die, not only because of the virus, but because on the inability of some hospitals to accept patients who have other emergency concerns. It seems that death has also been a part of the new normal. I understand that statistically there are people who die everyday, but it is only now that I am fully aware of the number of people who are dying everyday because of the news. It doesn’t help that the stories behind their death are most of the times tragic.

At the moment, the new normal is a burden, for most of the Filipinos. These are dark and hard times. Prayers can do so much but there will be times that people may feel this is not enough and they need food to fill their stomach. We hope we can pull through from this, but right now we are in difficult times.

We hope to see a light at the end of the road, it may take long, but I hope there is still light for the future..