Today officially marks the one-year anniversary since the country officially entered into quarantine as a way of handling the COVID-19 pandemic which was beginning to escalate at that point after initial cases were reported in January.
For many of us, on that day, life abruptly stopped. All of the sudden, we could no longer go out as much as we used to because of the viciousness of the virus behind COVID-19. Especially during the first couple of months since quarantine began, we were forced to be stuck mostly at home which has become as well a place of work or study.
All of a sudden, face masks and face shields have become mandatory fashion accessories of sorts and our journeys were limited to the transport that is available or allowed. Eventually, restrictions of movement loosened by June and people started going out…somewhat. With the threat of the virus still around some people are still wary to go outside while seniors and minors are still discouraged from leaving their homes. Public interactions became either limited or necessitated with plastic or glass shields in an effort to contain the invisible virus at bay.
As far as businesses are concerned, some have managed to reopen and at least surviving at this time. Others have remained closed because of the quarantine restrictions while some sadly decided to close their operations for good. Most affected were those in the travel, recreation, and hospitality industries, which found themselves deprived of the traveler market that the pandemic forced to stay at their respective homes.
On the bright side, the pandemic has accelerated the country’s digital revolution. All of the sudden, digital banks and c cashless transactions have grown in usage. Online delivery and shopping apps have become more popular than ever as the public patronized them more than ever. Online learning is also surging ahead, despite the challenges of connectivity.
One year later, there is still no end yet in sight for this pandemic as cases begin to rise anew at this time of writing. However, the vaccine rollout that began this year is something to be optimistic about.
For the meantime, check out this YouTube video I uploaded which shows how life in the metropolis has been a year since the quarantine began. This is the first time in a long time that I uploaded video content related to the site and I hope to do some more of these in the future.
