Last Updated on October 28, 2024 by Ellen
We are healthy. We are safe. We are coping.
Philippine Quarantine Day 13
Sunny days
I’ve been staying up late — and sleeping later in the mornings. It helps avoid the sun. Indeed, over the last week I’ve somehow become more sunburned than ‘usual’.
Day after day spent lounging shirtless on our balcony means at least six to eight hours of exposure. Even though it is completely shaded, the ambient and bouncing UV light is obviously baking me. I guess I should apply some sunblock. But I’m NOT in the sun!
Truthfully, even our living space is flooded with UV light. There is a lot of glass. And we usually keep the sliding doors, curtains, and windows wide open throughout the day to allow maximum ventilation. The breezes here are strong and delightful. But the skies are clear and the sun blazing everyday. Temperatures are always mid-80s Fahrenheit. It has only rained lightly overnight a few times in the two weeks we’ve been here.
Today, our health department temperature checks roused me at 9:00 a.m. (Ellen and mom had been up for some hours already). After registering 36.8 Celsius – my highest reading yet – I went back to bed, dozing, reading, hiding from the sun, until after noon.
Community quarantine
Sleeping late was easy. Everything seemed quieter, more peaceful today. Even the dogs and roosters were near silent.
Of course, Sunday morning is often one of the stillest times in developing nations. Sunday is traditionally THE one day off of work. It is family time. Church time. Things start slowly on Sunday. Even more so here during this time of social distancing and restriction.
Throughout the day there were noticeably fewer people out and about. Less interaction, less noise, less fishing. This first Sunday of “Enhanced Community Quarantine” appeared to be taken seriously by residents.
The only real activity: a late afternoon ball game in the street by a group of neighborhood children (photo at top). It must be hard for them to remain cooped up all day, all week.
Low supplies
After my late rise, we had a mid-afternoon Sunday brunch. I whipped up a whole box of pancake mix and scrambled our remaining eggs. Our grocery supply is pretty low. Of course, we can order whatever food is available from our HangOut Beach Resort restaurant – and we do for many dinners.
Still, we are glad that our 14-day quarantine is winding down. And we look forward to being able to go resupply at whatever supermarket (or ‘wet’ market) is in town. We need personal items too: sunblock, shampoo, toothpaste, TP, hopefully more antiseptic wipes.
Strangely, we don’t even know what the shopping options are – or if they are open. Normally, we’d be well familiar with any place we’d been staying for two weeks. But here, the only stop we made was at the town port before coming to this resort – and quarantine.
Hopefully we can access local businesses without issue and find what we need. Plus, we will need to comply with all community control requirements: only one person per family permitted off-site, family credential required, mask must be worn, social distancing practiced.
Should be an interesting week ahead. Still, we remain thankful for our comfortable situation and pray for those worldwide who are not as fortunate.
Life is NOW!
Note: Tedly and Ellen alternate writing days in this “Philippine Quarantine” series. If you missed how we got here, see our initial post.
Thanks for reading Philippine Quarantine Day 13: Coping.
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