The next health concerns

For the first time in memory, there are no sports stories to talk about. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has chastened the government, and movement of the citizenry gas been greatly restricted. This has been for two reasons. First, it is to cut down on potential contact with those who may have contracted the illness. Secondly, it will allow those who have but have not manifested the symptoms to incubate without spreading it further.

So far, every major international sports league has ceased all activity. Every local professional, commercial, collegiate and high school league has suspended competition indefinitely. Even the staunch Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, once blissfully unmindful of global reactions, has joined the effort to curtail the virus’ spread. That leaves almost nothing to report, as all large gatherings are temporarily prohibited.

So what else is there to say, report, write about, discuss, debate? We have been deprived of all the tools and safety blankets and go-to weapons of choice. There are no games. We used to only say that a painful few times a year. Holy Week. All Souls Day. Christmas. New Year’s Eve. Now, every day feels like Good Friday. Nope, no highlights, stats, trades, scores, records, standings, numbers to crunch, chew, digest, spit out, analyze. None. For most of us in sports broadcasting, it also means zero income. I used to say we were the gift wrapping, the spotlight. Now, there is nothing to wrap, package, present, hype. It is an eerie, empty feeling.

Most of what we will hear is good news. NBA players paying the salaries of employees at their home arenas. Plans for future boxing matches. Events to look forward to; things of that nature. But not the daily chewy, meaty, crunchy bits we’re used to.

If you go to most slum areas, you will notice that they generally have more children than less crowded, more affluent areas. This is for two reasons. First, the close physical proximity provides more temptation (and opportunity) for sexual contact. Secondly, economically, they cannot afford as many forms or entertainment, and sex is free. 

On July 13, 1977, New York City suffered a gigantic power failure. The city had no electricity for 25 hours, resulting in massive looting and criminal activity. Around 4,500 people were arrested. More significantly, a small surge in births was reported nine months later. In 1992, yearlong blackouts in Colombia resulted in a four percent increase in births, roughly 27,000 more children born. In four weeks of 2008, parts of Zanzibar island suffered power failures. Those areas reported a 17 percent increase in the number of live births. Can you imagine that happening throughout the parts of the Philippines as a result of the quarantine? This will be the next health and economic concern. How many tens of thousands of coronavirus-caused babies will be around the holidays?

The announcement of the Metro Manila quarantine (and the previous, premature and fake announcement of a lockdown by a broadcast network) caused people to start panic-buying Thursday onward. The stupid thing is that there was no announcement of rationing, cessation of basic services, Martial Law or anything remotely close. The poverty mentality in people just kicked in. Now, there are folks at home sitting on mountains of toilet paper, rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer and snacks that they normally do not buy, with a lot of time on their hands. And Filipinos cannot just sit around. They have to be nibbling something, keeping both hands and their mouths busy. So they will eat. More than they should. In a month, the average person could put on at least five pounds of excess weight. At least five pounds.

Until someone sounds that it’s safe to live normally again, we have to be careful not to put on extra weight, or make extra people. This, too, shall pass.