The Philippines’ Covid-19 Diary Through My Eyes – Part 1

March 5, one of my dreaded days happened, the Philippines announced its first infected Filipino (WITHOUT ANY TRAVEL HISTORY) of the COVID 19 virus. The new cases count was quite slow that time. Not until the first Filipino death WITHOUT ANY TRAVEL HISTORY has been recorded. 😞

It changed everything. Philippines started its local transmission on March 12. President Duterte declared Code Red Sub Level 2, issuing a partial quarantine in Metro Manila. That was Thursday last week. News were circulated EVEN BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT. I didn’t panic. At that time, I still have high hopes of a better Philippines – a COVID19-free country (world, rather).

Last Friday, we secured the masks from my mom-in-law Mommy Tess and stayed at home despite the panic amongst us.

Saturday March 14, hubby went to the mall around the afternoon as we panic due to the 8PM TO 5AM curfew. He returned the Zara clothes he bought BEFORE the quarantine announcement (this is for another blog post. Ugh! I hate him. Nagawa pang magshopping eh 😣)

Afterwards, he bought some brewed coffee bottles at the Coffee Bean, extra bed sheets and comforter (ready in case of serious isolation), some extra food containers, medicines/maintenance, and food (frozen, hygiene, snacks and fruits).

That was the longest weekend of our lives. Up until now it seems like I haven’t recovered yet, my heart body and soul are shattered. We weren’t able to pay our credit card due that day because of the panic and things we have to prioritize for the quarantine.

Sunday, I noticed that most countries and people I follow all over the world are under quarantine and most of the cases go up and only few good news existed that time. My mind is clouded with negativity and stress.

Sunday is the first day where Filipinos TRIED to follow the curfew and new quarantine rules. I salute our government for being strict and following the guidelines really well. I pity those who can’t do anything but judge, point fingers and play the blame game.

My heart goes to those who still have to work but have no decent ride going out and coming home. I am sad for those who have a “no work, no pay” set-up and still need to go to work despite the long walk and fear of the virus. Tons of questions in my head as countries still argue despite this difficult crisis our world is in. Political parties and media still find a way to disgust me with their 2 sides of the story and how they do a “dagdag-bawas” in every headline/news they make. Ugh!

March 16, the President announced an ENHANCED QUARANTINE (TOTAL LOCKDOWN). As if the Filipinos are already well-adjusted to the first quarantine rule, he then made another law that is more scary and quite unpredictable (at least for me) – forcing more establishments, stores and banks to close this time. Just like the others, we had a hard time to adapt. Especially when we learned that food deliveries and Grab Express will stop operating. For someone who doesn’t have a helper, with 2 homeschoolers and without a car (both of us are working from home at the moment) – Grab Express and Food Panda are a necessity for us. It’s a good thing that after a few hours, they went back to operation.

People bought tons of food again, and this time, more people are dying compared to the ones who recovered .. and almost all the hospitals in NCR are now in their full capacity. Tons of cities are already infected by COVID-19. 25% came from Quezon City.

March 17, DOH already confirmed that there is already a COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION. Certain areas should be stricter in their regulations. A lot of cases are not exposed with a known COVID-19 patient and they have no travel history at all. We have no choice but to apply a more desperate measure and stricter rules.

Bayanihan everywhere – a lot of celebrities, big companies, churches, and even a regular citizen helped the frontliners by donating masks, protective gears and suits. Some goodies and medicines are given to those who can’t afford and need a ride going to work. Slowly but surely, hand in hand, Filipinos are finding their way to stop this crisis and rise up.

Back to our own lives. My husband has to go out to withdraw our money from our payroll bank and deposit it to our main bank where our housing loan and credit card are under. Since most banks are already closed, hubby has to walk for an hour going to the mall (where the bank is) and another hour back to our home.

His itinerary includes changing his number so he can enroll to online banking. I still remember the stress of giving him instructions (nagpapasaway pa kasi, ayaw sumunod 🙄) while he is catching for his breath wearing an N95 mask.

Eventually, he was able to accomplish his most important task that day – MAKE SURE WE CAN DO ONLINE TRANSACTIONS NEXT TIME. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make it to our main bank for deposit. That side of the story is for NEXT TIME. He was supposed to go to the drug store to buy medicines but he still has to go back to work (at home).

It is interesting how well-behaved our community is. Salute to our community! There’s military and police visible in our area but they didn’t hold him off. No harassment when you just follow the rules and respect the authorities.

As I write this blog, I’m at a good state of mind. Well, compared to last week.. I’m getting better now. I downloaded and slowly turning into the ONLINE options. From food deliveries (Food Panda, KFC online, etc), medicine online delivery (USANA) to online banking. We have no choice. As we try to kill this virus and save each other’s lives, we have to be considerate and find ways to do things ONLINE.

I ordered my children’s vitamins online as a Preferred Consultant of USANA. You can avail a 10% discount with P250 minimum delivery fee.

1. Click the link to sign up for a FREE Preferred Consultant account.
2. If you are in a different country, select the country and language then click Continue.
3. Choose the product/s you want by adding it to your cart.
4. After adding the products you want to order, click Continue.
5. To avail the additional 10% discount, you may sign up for an auto-order.
6. Click the “Not Right Now” button.
7. Enter all the necessary details. If you get errors in the Primary Phone number, please remove the first 0. Double check the details then click Continue
8. After clicking continue, the new USANA ID will be generated. You will use this to login to your USANA account and to all your USANA-related transactions.
9. Have it delivered to your doorstep by clicking your registered name and address. *Minimum shipping fee of P250 via LBC. Click the New Address button if you want the products to be shipped to a different address.
10. You will be asked for the payment method. You can opt to: Pay via credit card, Bank Payment System (via Unionbank), GCash, Cash2C2P (Bayad Center or LBC). For GCash and 2C2P payment, an email will be sent to you for the instructions on how to proceed with the payment.
11. Double check all fields and click Continue. You will be redirected to the next screen and proceed to payment. It will notify you if the payment is successful or not. For any issues on payment, call Usana hotline immediately.
12. Save the ID for reference. Thanks Kenneth for helping me out!

Aside from USANA, I downloaded Metro Mart for online grocery and food delivery. I haven’t tried it yet but I will update you soon. Thank you Ash for the discount! 😘

Recently, I downloaded FOOD PANDA for my coffee fix. I have tachycardia and it is very important for me to drink coffee at least one cup a day without palpitating. The coffee shouldn’t be strong but at the same time, it shouldn’t be sweet. No whip, non-fat milk. I ordered 8 frappe for me (stock for a week) and 3 cups of milk for hubby’s brewed coffee. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t extravagant if compared to its price – just right for us to get by. Will I order at Food Panda again after this crisis? Not sure. Order arrived after 2 hours, everything is cold, including the pizza and pasta. They even left 1 pastry (buti na lang we checked, though rider initiated for us to check the order). After a few minutes, he arrived with the ensaymada. The food seems clean and well-packed. The food quality and quantity are what frustrate me, but breathe in positivity exhale negative vibes.

We ordered food from Coffee Project through Food Panda. The pizzas are really delectable despite its coldness. Still crispy 🤤 The coffee, on the other hand, is not too strong and not too sweet but nothing extraordinary either (at least based on my first cup). The pasta is overcooked (despite my note to make it al dente) and there’s nothing special about it.

We also tried KFC delivery (online) but it crashes once in awhile. They have a promo of a FREE CHICKEN (new product) for every order of P500 minimum. Food quality is better since it’s a direct order – hot and not late. But, they forgot the free chicken 😄

Please please let us not forget to tip our hardworking riders in this crazy time.

I’m supposed to announce the winner of my giveaway this week and have another giveaway but because of our current situation, I am cancelling both of them to give way and importance to our health and worldwide battle to fight this virus.

I will keep you posted in the days to come and give you updates about our situation here in the Philippines. Pray hard and please stay INDOORS to save yourself and others who also want another day to live. 🙏🙏🙏

God bless you! Keep holding on!