Is Coronavirus Real?

The Philippines continues to be plagued by coronavirus infections as thousands got infected in recent weeks. Hospitals are already full to the brim, as more tents are being used as makeshift emergency room facilities. Patients are required to wait to be attended to by the ER doctor, and this put a lot of strain to health workers as well as the patients who needs medical attention immediately.

This sudden spike in coronavirus cases leads some people to believe that COVID-19 is not true, and that doctors are just making up the diagnosis so that they can bill patients on COVID-19 tests and room and board in the hospitals. This is probably due to the fact that some patients are asymptomatic, and maybe because the Filipino people are so tired of all the community lockdowns. Everybody just wants to return to their normal lives.

All of these, and the delayed delivery of vaccine vials, make matters worse. In addition to this, the wearing of masks is uncomfortable to many, and, honestly, this leads to disobedience in most people going outside. Infections are prevalent in the National Capital Region where the minimum health protocols are taken for granted by many. Thus, the government is consistently determining the R naught to presumably guide its next policy issuances.

Whether or not COVID-19 is true or not, what we see in the hospitals is enough evidence for us to listen to scientists and heed their advice regarding prudent measures to prevent contracting the disease, whatever that disease may be. But the coronavirus is not a political matter, although some might suggest that the pandamic is being exploited by capitalism, and the big pharmaceutical companies are raking in the profit.

The truth about coronavirus is deeply philosophical. It tests our common resolve to know what we should do in the face of danger; it keeps us cognizant of our responsibility to preserve our own lives, and the responsibility of saving the lives of others. COVID-19 is about the frontliners, the healthcare professionals willing to risk their own lives to save others, even though most of them are underpaid and working long hours.

But most of all, COVID-19 is about discipline. It is about patience. It is about life.

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The editorial is sponsored by Ford.