The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has proven to have brought everyone at their lowest, financially, mentally, physically, and every other aspect, because no one would have thought that the situation could get any worse—until it actually did. It all started in the bustling city of Wuhan, the capital of Central China’s Hubei Province. According to Professor Sharon Lewin of Doherty Institute, the first infections in Wuhan started in early December of 2019. Because the Coronavirus was a new infectious disease, it took some time to register and familiarize themselves with the virus, which at that time, they figured to be some form of Pneumonia. Doctors suspected that the virus originated in Wuhan’s seafood and wildlife market.

According to Kirby Institute’s Biosecurity Program in the University of New South Wales, the virus originated from bats, as it is what the genetic data suggests, but there was an intermediary animal host—pangolins. Through the handling of the contaminated animal source in the market, the first infection of the Coronavirus occurred.

 

On January 5, 2020, a few days after the first Novel Coronavirus outbreak, the Department of Health in the Philippines (DOH) ordered tighter checks on inbound travelers because of the mysterious Pneumonia spreading, which was later identified as COVID-19. By January 23, 2020, the Philippines stopped accepting flights from Wuhan, and the next day, nearly 500 Chinese tourists were flown back to China. It was on January 27, 2020, when 14 individuals were under probe for suspected Coronavirus, and the next day, DOH also convened the first inter-agency task force (IATF) for the management of emerging infectious diseases. President Duterte suspended the issuance of visas on arrival to Chinese nationals on January 28, 2020, but he was not keen on banning travel to China as the Chinese government wasn’t putting a travel ban on theirs and they continued to respect the citizens’ right to travel. The president also said that the Philippines is conscious of the OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) and if they want to go home, ferrying them back to the Philippines is possible but all safety precautions must be observed. On January 30, 2020, the first case of Coronavirus in the country was reported which was a 38-year-old female Chinese national who traveled to the Philippines from Wuhan. The next day, the president issued an order to temporarily stop the entry of all visitors from China's Hubei province. On February 1, 2020, the first COVID-19 death outside of China was reported which was a male

Chinese tourist who passed away in Manila, and on February 10, 2020, the first recovery from COVID-19 was reported which was the same 38-year-old woman who was the first reported case in the Philippines.

 

On March 6, 2020, the first local case of Coronavirus was reported which was a 62-year-old man who didn’t travel outside the country but still contracted the virus. The next day, DOH confirmed two cases of local transmission of COVID-19 raising their alert system to Code Red sublevel 1 resulting in class suspensions and employees having to work from home. On March 8, 2020, President Duterte declared a state of a public health emergency and said that one to six months imprisonment of citizens who refused to follow safety measures was allowed. There will even be penalties ranging from P20,000 to P50,000. On March 11, 2020, DOH announced the first Filipino to die of COVID-19 which was a 67-year old woman confined in a private hospital in Manila, and on the same day, the World Health Organization announced COVID-19 as a pandemic because they said that “there were 118,000 cases, more than 4,000 deaths, and the virus has found a foothold on every continent except for Antarctica.” On March 15, 2020, the president implemented a quarantine in Metro Manila said to end on April 13, and on the next day, the government released a ₱27.1-B spending plan for the pandemic. DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) also extended cash aid to employees because there were workers who could not go to work because of the travel restrictions. On March 17, 2020, the whole Luzon area was placed under enhanced community quarantine. On March 24, 2020, the president signed the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, and four days later, on March 28, 2020, assistance for low-income

households, farmers, and fisherfolk of ₱200-B was assured by the government. On April 1, 2020, the first batch of ₱1.8-B PPE was shipped to the Philippines, and a day after, there were 3 buildings in Metro Manila that were converted into quarantine facilities. On April 7, 2020, the lockdown in Luzon was extended until April 30, but as of April 13, 2020, the Philippines still holds the most number of confirmed cases in Southeast Asia at 4,932. By May 6, 2020, the number of cases already surpassed 10,000, which is why on May 12, 2020, it was reported that Metro Manila, Laguna, and Cebu City were to be under “Modified” Enhanced Community Quarantine until May 31.

 

As of June 5, 2020, 7.3 million Filipinos were jobless while there were 13 million Filipinos with jobs, but could not report to work because of the rules under lockdown. On June 8, 2020, DepEd (Department of Education) said that face-to-face classes will be delayed until a vaccine for COVID-19 was available, resulting in students now having to attend online classes and learning through modules. As of August 2, 2020, confirmed cases were already at 100,000, with recoveries at 65,557 and deaths at 2,059; the following month, confirmed cases have doubled to 202,361. On September 11, 2020, President Duterte signed the ₱165.5-B Bayanihan 2 Law and a week later, extended the national state of calamity until September 2021. As of November 11, 2020, confirmed cases in the Philippines were already at 401,416, recoveries at 362,217, and the death toll at 7,710. According to the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority), the Philippine economy has suffered from a recession, shrinking by 16.5% compared to the previous year. Many Filipinos have found themselves either unemployed or encountering difficulties with the new normal. Students can now only rely on their internet connection, which is fairly slow in the Philippines, to be able to attend online classes. The tourism sector is also suffering greatly as there are travel restrictions all over the country. Everyone is desperate for this pandemic to end, even President Duterte offered Php10 million to whoever can create a vaccine for COVID-19, encouraging people to work harder and help the nation address this state of calamity. Also, with the recent natural disasters striking the country, the situation of some Filipinos just seems to aggravate more and more. Some have lost their lives or their loved ones’ because they refused to go to evacuation sites caused by their fear of getting infected by COVID-19 there.

 

According to the November 25, 2020 situation report of the Philippines by WHO, DepEd is considering the possibility of a return to face-to-face classes in 2021 because of 3 vaccine manufacturers announcing the high effectivity rates of their COVID-19 vaccines after trials. The government is also said to be setting aside Php70 billion for the COVID-19 vaccines of 60 million citizens. According to Worldometers, as of today, there are 442,785 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 8,670 deaths, and 408,790 recoveries. So far, mostly everyone is complying with the safety measures being imposed by the government; wearing a mask and a face shield, observing social distancing, and taking care of their health and well-being. Despite this, many are still feeling scared and anxious as there is no certainty as to when this pandemic will end. We can only pray

and hope that the government is genuinely doing its best to serve the nation because

there is really no one else to rely on during these times other than them.