While we are suffering, the Earth is healing

The FREEMAN reported yesterday that Cebu logged 12 new coronavirus positive cases on April 21, seven of which are from Cebu City. Mayor Edgardo Labella announced that one of the seven cases is from the fishport in Barangay Suba; two are from the Cebu City Jail; two are from San Antonio, Calamba; one is from Katipunan, Labangon; and one is from Hipodromo. The patients from the city jail and Barangays Calamba, Labangon, and Hipodromo are admitted in the hospital.

So now (as of yesterday), Cebu City has a total of 173 positive cases, mostly coming from Sito Zapatera. So where’s that headline news from The Freeman last Friday that said, DOH-7: Entire sitio ‘infected’? To my mind, that was a reckless statement by City Health Officer Daisy Villa, which ended with the arrest of Cebu film writer Maria Victoria Beltran who sent a message in her Facebook, which said, “9,000 plus new cases (all from Zapatera) of COVID-19 in Cebu City in one day. We are now the epicenter in the whole Solar system.” Meanwhile, Brigadier General Albert Ferro, Central Visayas police director, said that Beltran was being charged with violating Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Law.

But while she can say that she got these numbers from the DOH-7, I still have to know why she said, “We are now the epicenter in the whole Solar system.” She said  that she was being satirical… but for me, she was selling fake news, especially to people who want to know more as to why we are now the epicenter of the solar system! In my book, this is no laughing matter nor does any responsible writer write something that is totally unheard of.

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Yes, yesterday was Earth Day 2020 but due to our daily quarantine in our homes, we didn’t do anything to celebrate that day. However upon further check, it turns out that thanks to COVID-19, almost all governments ordered a lockdown of its citizens, making the earth relax from many of man’s machines that produce pollution. Satellite images that I saw from the internet showed that the worst pollution was over China and the United States. Now their aerial domains have lightened up, and satellites have no trouble taking dramatic photos of their cities because the pollution has disappeared.

I even checked with Metro Manila whose skies have opened up. In fact a few months ago, it was surprising to know that the waters of Manila Bay has turned blue because of the massive clean-up that the Department of Environment and Natural Resourses (DENR) has been doing. In some areas, they can now clearly see the other end of their lakes or rivers, which proves that the pollution is no longer there.

Sure things are starting to get hotter every day because summer is officially here. However, we did have a strong 10-minute rain the other night. We can only hope and pray for more rain. So if there is anything positive about our being under lockdown, it is that our Earth has been given a new ray of hope because there is less pollution from our streets! But how

long would this last? I guess when this global pandemic is over.

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Meanwhile, there is new hope when a placenta-based cell therapy formulated by an Israeli therapeutic company has been found to have totally cured six critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Israel. This was data provided by Haifa, Israel-based Pluristem Therapeutic Inc., where according to a recent report posted on The Jerusalem Post’s website, indicated that the six patients, who were suffering from acute respiratory failure and inflammations associated with COVID-19, were treated at three Israeli hospitals for a week.

This report also mentioned that all their patients were considered “high-risk for mortality” from the highly infectious disease, while four of them “also demonstrated failure of other organ systems, including cardiovascular and kidney failure.” We can only hope and pray that this Israeli company can fast-track making the drug that kills the coronavirus and finally put an end to this global pandemic.

Now I heard that our national lockdown might be moved towards the end of May. I just hope that President Rodrigo Duterte would not just lump down the communities that have already veered away from this virus so they can resume and start rebuilding their economy. The lockdown must only be continued in provinces that continue to be infected by the virus.

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