COVID-19: Day 4 Shelter in place March 20 2020

I was not able to write anything yesterday because I have been incredibly busy with work.  Travel is down to almost zero (no new bookings in a while) but my customers who have booked their trips prior to this pandemic still need assistance.  So while I make no additional income by helping them now, it would be wrong to just leave them out there to try to figure this whole mess out.  

I am exhausted.  Working from home makes you work longer hours because when you remember to do something, you power up the computer and do it and you get tied up and start doing other things.  What was supposed to be a 5 minute task has turned into another hour of work.  

But today, I'm taking a day off.  I did work a little bit but most of the day, I'm just relaxing.  I did manage to exercise today, some Zumba, squats and weights and I did a tiktok video with my daughter. =)  A friend of mine is a certified cross-fit trainer and she gives me exercises that will work with my limitations (RA).  I have lost 8.5 lbs in the less than a month and I plan to lose more during this shelter in place.

I can't wait to do another cooking show on Instagram Stories today.  I am really looking forward to that.  Cooking is therapy and I am excited that I can share some of the skills to my friends out there.  

The US government is getting closer (I hope) to figuring out the details of the CoronaVirus Relief package.  I pray we get some help from the government.  Everyone needs help.

There is one confirmed case of COVID 19 in my hometown in Cavite so early this morning, I spoke to my brother and gave him instructions to buy more food and prepare to lock down for more than 1 month.  No one should leave the house unless absolutely necessary.  

It is the situation in the Philippines that has me extremely worried.  Healthcare is not very good over there.  The few world-class hospitals are in Manila and have limited capacity.  They have a quarantine in place but it is not properly enforced.  There are too many exceptions and Filipinos are notorious for being stubborn and disobedient to the law.  There is no unemployment insurance that provides safety net if they lose their income due to circumstances like the one we are currently facing.  The poor (a majority of the people) will now have to decide if they should continue to work and risk getting sick in order to put food on the table, or to stop working a starve.  

To top this off, politicians are still squabbling.  Citizens criticize and complain constantly.  The inequality between the poor and the rich are even more obvious when facing a crisis like this.  Test kits are readily available for the rich and famous, while the average person needs to be critically ill before they get tested.  

Maybe that's how it is here in the United States, too but to a lesser degree.  Movie stars and athletes seem to be getting tested more quickly while others have to jump through hoops to get tested. 

California declared a state-wide shelter in place policy yesterday.  It really looks like we are going to be stuck inside for 8 weeks.  In my gut, I also feel like some of the airports will be shutdown in less than 2 weeks, either here in the United States or in the Philippines.  Cases in the United States jumped to 14,000, with a 1.6% mortality rate.  There are now more deaths in Italy than in China.  China is starting to recover.  Their data, supplies and manpower is now being used to help countries all over the world.  I really do hope and pray the nations help each other out.  No one wins by being selfish during these times (so stop hoarding people!!!).