Losing the war

I was in shock when fellow columnist and lawyer source Atty. Paul Oaminal passed away this week. We recently talked to each other over the phone when he and another lawyer questioned the legality of the Interagency Task Force. This was when Imperial Manila wanted to impose on Cebu the same rules as theirs, despite the systematic way we were already handling our returning overseas workers. I still remember his charm and his charisma, plus he segued to invite me to his book launch. Apparently he knew the city's streets so well that he wrote a book about them.

Although he was just a suspected COVID-19 patient, the fact is there are already a lot of deaths as the days pass. One scroll on my newsfeed would yield a lot of photos of lit candles in front of a black background to signify mourning. Even the strongest people could not make it, either the virus defeated them or for another reason. Yet to die in this time would mean no crowd for your wake and immediate burial or cremation.

It feels like we are losing the war against the virus that disrupted our daily lives. Remember when the daily average of cases were manageable? It feels like we were slowly getting a hang of things and on our way to seeing the new normal. However with the Delta variant now, there is so much uncertainty. Experts say that the Delta variant's viral load is much more than the previous variants of the virus. That sort of explains the huge daily numbers. Lucky if those who test positive are just asymptomatic. What makes the situation worse is that most of them have to be admitted and a number of them are unvaccinated.

With the call for individuals to heed to basic health protocols, there are also people who believe that everything is just a conspiracy. They are called "anti-vaxxers" by the millennials and are also the most prone to catch the virus. They think that this is all made up and that the industries are just making money. They are like the die-hards who believe in the wrong choices and wrong decisions because this is a global health crisis. I mean, we all respect each other's decisions when it comes to the vaccine but please don't allow others to join your cause.

It is too painful to lose more people as the days go by. I wish I can finally wake up and see that the numbers are going down; and that the hospitals are not overwhelmed. We can only win this war if we can also cooperate. You know, it is so easy and it is very cliché, but somehow we just can't follow. If we want to be champions, we have to at least work hard and start somewhere.

To all the souls lost because of the virus, I pray for you and for your families to find peace in their hearts. Tomorrow is another day.