This weekend, Metro Manila shifted from being on an Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) yesterday. Supposedly, the only key change should have been that the government is now allowing some industries to resume up to 50% of their operations, which means a few more people will be allowed to move around. However, what I've seen in social media this weekend is alarming: myriads of people flocked to the malls that reopened, making it nearly impossible to observe social distancing. Reports even indicated that some people didn't even wear masks. We haven't quite managed the increase in Covid cases in the country so having huge crowds is a bit worrisome. I hope this doesn't cause a surge in the number of positive cases but I guess I wouldn't be surprised if this happens after 2-3 weeks.
I actually forgot that NCR would be on MECQ starting yesterday. I went to the supermarket yesterday for a grocery run but when I got there, the line was tremendously long. I estimated it would be about a 2-hour wait or more just to get inside. Thankfully, the supermarket is a 5 minute walk from where I live so I decided to go back some other time. I planned to return on Tuesday after work because I figure less people would be at the supermarket on a weekday but then I realized I had meetings all the way until 530pm so I might not be able to go on Tuesday. Since I was running out of supplies already, I decided to go back today. Fortunately for me, the line a lot shorter when I got there.
It took my about 45 minutes to get into the supermarket - there were so many people inside, it was a challenge to maintain social distancing! - but the queues at the check-out counters for credit card payments were extremely long. I had enough cash with me so I decided to just head over to the basket lane. Right before my turn to pay, the senior citizen counter that allowed credit card payments next to me opened and there were no senior citizens around (the queue for the other counters was so far away). I asked the lady at the counter if I could just pay there and she allowed me. Cool! I just had to wait 10 minutes in line to pay and I got to pay with my credit card.
The supermarlet lines this weekend reminded me of the time right before the curfew was announced (this was before the curfew turned into ECQ). I ran out of supplies just as people started panic buying so I had no choice but to brave the lines. I ended up being in line at 8pm and I only got to leave the supermarket at 1030. And there were still scores of people waiting to pay! I really felt bad for the supermarket workers that evening. Thankfully, things have been a bit more controlled since then.
I mentioned in an earlier post that the company I work for implemented a work-from-home arrangement for all employees. While this is ideal for most people, I have found it to be quite challenging because my work area at home is not ergonomic. I find myself getting tired a lot more quickly so after working for about 8 hours sitting in an unergonomic area, I don't feel like spending much more time in front of my personal laptop to blog. It is for this reason that despite being stuck at home, I have posted a lot less. I spent this weekend organizing things at home to hopefully make my work area more ergonomic. If I manage to write more frequently after this, then that means my plan worked. Keeping my fingers crossed...
I actually forgot that NCR would be on MECQ starting yesterday. I went to the supermarket yesterday for a grocery run but when I got there, the line was tremendously long. I estimated it would be about a 2-hour wait or more just to get inside. Thankfully, the supermarket is a 5 minute walk from where I live so I decided to go back some other time. I planned to return on Tuesday after work because I figure less people would be at the supermarket on a weekday but then I realized I had meetings all the way until 530pm so I might not be able to go on Tuesday. Since I was running out of supplies already, I decided to go back today. Fortunately for me, the line a lot shorter when I got there.
It took my about 45 minutes to get into the supermarket - there were so many people inside, it was a challenge to maintain social distancing! - but the queues at the check-out counters for credit card payments were extremely long. I had enough cash with me so I decided to just head over to the basket lane. Right before my turn to pay, the senior citizen counter that allowed credit card payments next to me opened and there were no senior citizens around (the queue for the other counters was so far away). I asked the lady at the counter if I could just pay there and she allowed me. Cool! I just had to wait 10 minutes in line to pay and I got to pay with my credit card.
The supermarlet lines this weekend reminded me of the time right before the curfew was announced (this was before the curfew turned into ECQ). I ran out of supplies just as people started panic buying so I had no choice but to brave the lines. I ended up being in line at 8pm and I only got to leave the supermarket at 1030. And there were still scores of people waiting to pay! I really felt bad for the supermarket workers that evening. Thankfully, things have been a bit more controlled since then.
I mentioned in an earlier post that the company I work for implemented a work-from-home arrangement for all employees. While this is ideal for most people, I have found it to be quite challenging because my work area at home is not ergonomic. I find myself getting tired a lot more quickly so after working for about 8 hours sitting in an unergonomic area, I don't feel like spending much more time in front of my personal laptop to blog. It is for this reason that despite being stuck at home, I have posted a lot less. I spent this weekend organizing things at home to hopefully make my work area more ergonomic. If I manage to write more frequently after this, then that means my plan worked. Keeping my fingers crossed...
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