The just ended 2020 was the year of the metal rat, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. It started on January 25 last year when the initial cases of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection erupted here in the Philippines. It was when three tourists from Wuhan, China arrived in our country to spend their Chinese Lunar New Year. But while here, they fell ill of what was then known only as the novel coronavirus, a strain from the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-nCoV-2) disease.
It later turned out there was already an epidemic of the SARS-nCoV-2 in the province of Wuhan at a time thousands of Chinese nationals left their homes to spend their lunar new year with their families living abroad or took vacations in other countries like the Philippines. The three Chinese nationals who came were among those infected already.
Local transmissions of the highly contagious disease erupted in Metro Manila and the number of cases rose exponentially. Later on, the World Health Organization (WHO) finally declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency and issued a global alert to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was too late though when the Philippine government totally closed all its borders to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic spread to other parts of our country.
President Rodrigo Duterte first enforced a Luzon-wide hard lockdown on March 15 and subsequently expanded to the rest of the country as deaths due to COVID-19 infection began to rise. President Duterte placed the entire country under a state of public health emergency that restricted, if not totally banned, movements of goods, services. For the past ten months now, the President has enforced varying degrees of community quarantines based on the evaluation and recommendations of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
Confronted with a “novel coronavirus” phenomenon, the pandemic crippled the capacity of every country’s health and medical facilities to cope with the rapid spread of the deadly virus. Thus, it triggered the race for the international pharmaceutical industries to develop the vaccine to fight the COVID-19 infection. And as we say, the rest is history.
While the community quarantines have gradually been relaxed since then, we are seeing another wave of travel restrictions following the discovery of another COVID-19 variant that originated in the United Kingdom (UK). President Duterte has approved imposition anew of travel restrictions to UK along with 20 other countries. The list may soon include the United States (US) where two confirmed cases of the UK variant were reported one after the other. So far, more than 50 countries have closed down their borders anew but this time, specifically on those with confirmed cases of UK variant.
The emergence of the UK variant even prompted President Duterte to convene an emergency meeting of the IATF at Malacanang a day after Christmas. The 75-year-old President could only echo his Catholic upbringing as he obviously attempted to rationalize why the COVID-19 pandemic is getting worse. During the televised IATF meeting, the Chief Executive mused aloud why another COVID-19 variant arose despite adoptions of extreme measures like travel restrictions and other forms of lockdowns.
“I’m reminded of my catechism in the past on the Bible about pestilence. This is actually a pestilence,” President Duterte quipped, and punned: “Piste itong ‘yun…” (It’s a pest.) Levity aside, the President declared: “So, we treat the new strain just like what – how we treated the COVID-19.”
Offhand, President Duterte admitted during the same IATF meeting his apprehensions on the UK variant coming out lately may reduce the efficacy of the newly developed anti-COVID vaccines that are so far still on third clinical trials. “Ang takot ko lang baka mag-mutate nang mutate every time that there’s a vaccine mag-mutate itong mga loko-loko na ito. Saan galing? I do not know. But as I said ang catechism ko sa grade school, it’s pestilence. Pinepeste talaga itong p…,” the President pointed out to medical and health experts who were invited at that IATF meeting.
On a positive note, President Duterte is pleased that governments of all COVID-affected countries like the Philippines have now become more “transparent” about their respective COVID-19 cases. “And about the only thing really that’s good about this contagion now is that every country is telling – it’s transparent, telling the truth. And even China admitted that the COVID-19 started from there,” the President cited.
He apparently refers to the WHO official report by all countries on the status of their respective COVID-19 cases. As of Dec.30, total tally of COVID-19 infection cases stood at 80,773,033 worldwide, with 1,783,619 deaths in 222 countries and territories under the WHO watch.
We can only wish we could leave behind COVID-19 pandemic with the year 2020.
Following the lunar calendar, the year of the metal rat will actually end this coming February 11th 2021 yet. The rat is the first animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac sign. In this order, the 12 Chinese horoscope animals are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. So day one of 2021 starting today is still a carry over of the year of the metal rat.
The animal sign that comes with your year of birth is supposed to represent your character. The ox is the animal farm in an agricultural country like ours. Those born in the year of the ox are also characterized as hardworking, diligent, persistent and reliable attributed to this beast of burden.
Come Chinese Lunar New Year on Feb. 12, the gold ox officially eases out the gold rat behind this annus horriblis of the COVID-19 pandemic. On a personal note, this completes my own birth sign of the Chinese zodiac along with its five elements (earth, fire, water, wood and metal) of the lunar calendar. Hence, 2021 is my year forward to the new normal ahead.
Happy new year to one and all.