COVID-19 Diary #5: GCQ – Now what?

My camote and kangkong

May 4 - Towards the end of April, the Province of Capiz, as well as other communities where COVID-19 has significantly dropped, was placed under General Community Quarantine. This was a significant downgrade from what used to be the lockdown-type enhanced community quarantine, where non-essential establishments were closed and only public markets, groceries, pharmacies, banks, and medical facilities were allowed to open. With the General Community Quarantine, the government has lightened its grip on the public and beginning May 1, a new sense of normalcy is put in place.

I appreciate the stay at home policy because it allowed me to do many things that I have put aside for quite some time because of busy work and travels in between. However, the real struggle is the absence of public utility vehicle which limited my trips to the grocery and the market. I got used to it, anyway and I appreciate the thought of not rushing after a deadline, working on your own pace, and working on passion projects that feed your soul. As for my case, I spent more time on my tiny backyard, where I raised some vegetable beds. It is relieving to work on the bare earth and feel the harmony with nature.

So, what’s with the GCQ? Here are the guidelines implemented by the country’s Interagency Taskforce for COVID-19 for areas under general community quarantine.

• 0-20 years old and 60 years old and above, pregnant women, those with health risks  are required to stay at home except when "indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services or for work in permitted industries and offices."
• Social distancing, wearing of face masks in public, mandatory checking of temperature, and regular use of disinfectants shall be strictly observed.
• The movement of those living in GCQ areas remain limited to accessing essential goods and services and going to work in offices and industries allowed to operate.
• More businesses and sectors are also allowed to operate. Malls and shopping centers will reopen with limited operations and capacity.
• Theaters, gaming areas, and other leisure stores will remain closed.
• Hotels in GCQ areas are only allowed to entertain long-term bookings, those who have existing accommodations for foreigners as of May 1, and those housing distressed OFWs and stranded Filipinos or foreign nationals.
• Mass gatherings remain prohibited, except for essential work assemblies and religious activities, as long as physical distancing of two meters is observed.
• Public transportation are allowed, but they could only take no more than 30 percent capacity. In my place where tricycle is the many mode of transport, only one passenger is allowed. I think this will affect the cost of tricycle fare.
• No commercial flights for now.
• The nonessential entry and exit of people to and from the ECQ zone is prohibited.

The past few days I’ve been actually overthinking about what would life be like with the new normal. I’m not yet ready to go out. I’m not so sure if this is anxiety, but i begin to question myself if I really wanted the old life that I left at the office – the 8-5 job, the rat race, the competitive environment, the obsession for promotion, the need to impress. I like it better here, stuck at home. I’ve g With weeks of staying at home, it became clearer that, no, I don’t want to over-obsess myself with the contemporary notion of what career is all about -  fascination for promotion that everything you do you do because it’s an added value for your career rise and not because you want to do it because it gives you joy and self-fulfilment. I’ve come to think it like this – I don’t like to be a building, straight and towering, yes; but dull and lifeless. I’d like to be a tree, whose roots burrow deep unto the earth,  whose branches reach for the sky, and whose leaves thrive with life and color.

What realizations have you made so far?