#Coronavirus Situation in the Cebu City, Philippines : Community Quarantine

The world has been affected in radical ways due to the current pandemic Covid-19. Our country, the Philippines as well was not spared in this situation and just this weekend, when the country's President had ordered a lockdown for NCR, our Cebu City Mayor's office also released an Executive Order (EO) No. 52 series of 2020 at the same time stating that Cebu City will be in Community Quarantine due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019.

The community quarantine will last up to 30 days and this is not yet a final state depending on the progress of the pandemic. Although the city has not yet announced any confirmed case, the city government has already imposed such quarantine so to ensure that the case can be contained easily.

Because of this quarantine, the city's current state has been disrupted. The following are some of the things that are mentioned on this executive order:

1. Seaports in the city for arriving passengers, except for cargo deliveries of essential goods are not permitted.

2. All classes are suspended until April 14, 2020

3. Curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

4. Commercial establishments such as malls are closed except for the sections which provide daily necessities like the supermarkets, pharmacy, and banks.

5. Students and senior citizens are not allowed to go out, and those who will go out have to bring IDs.

6. Cebuanaos are highly encouraged to stay at home, most workers are working from home.

7. No social gathering allowed.

8. No unnecessary travel.

Our plans of traveling to Siargao, a surfing island here in the Philippines had been canceled. My brother who is in the United Arab Emirates was supposed to go home on the 26th but since the flights have been canceled, he can't go home and he has to rebook it by end of April. We are still not sure if he can go home at that time. We will have to wait for further updates on the airlines.

Our company as well is really affected as I work for an aviation company. Most airlines have canceled their flights which means the pilots and crewmembers who are our customers do not have flights and jobs for the next one to two months. It is definitely affecting our business.

There are more to the above list and I would like to share the changes that had affected me the most are the church gathering and the work from the home situation for my husband.

As a 21 week pregnant woman, it is indeed a comfort to know that my husband can stay and work from home. This would mean being with me for the entire day and would keep himself safe at home, away from the possibility of being infected. Most of the IT companies if not all have already arranged this with their employees.

Some companies would even provide hotel accommodations for their employees who do not have a stable internet connection at their homes just like my own company.

But one of the things that I really miss is the weekend church gathering. Since last week, our church has stopped the weekend services but instead turned to technology by pre-recording the pastor's sermon and airing it on Sunday morning at 10. I miss my church mates but we thank God for technology for still bringing us together through virtual small groups. Although some still have issues with their connection, at least we could see each other virtually and still discuss our bible study lessons online.

While there are perks to this situation, more Filipinos are being reported to be infected and the government is really doing their best to impose orders and mandates to help contain this virus. Every one of us are being encouraged to follow the government orders but there are still citizens who are really not minding this serious pandemic.

Starting tomorrow, the Cebu province and city government will be imposing stricter orders for this as there are already reported under observation individuals showing the symptoms.

Our local church had also set up a 24 hour prayer and fasting for 7 days especially for covid-19. We may not be able to help the frontliners, doctors, and nurses as well as the militaries with their jobs, we believe that prayer is really a great weapon to combat this pandemic.

Here are our prayer items:

-Pray for the Govt. official protection and wisdom

-Pray for the protection of our front-liners eg; Doctors, Nurses, PNPs and Soldiers

-Plead for God's mercy upon our nation and upon our City

-Pray for the Brethren to be protected from the virus

-Pray for the sick in the church

-Pray for revival.

-Pray for the poor without shelter that God may keep them safe

-Pray for unsaved loved ones

We are really crying out to God for mercy, to miraculously stop this pandemic and heal those who are infected. I truly believe that He has brought this for a purpose and for sure that whatever the end, it will be for His glory.

In line with the situation, I created a digital art:

What about in your country or city? What is going on over there? Are people taking this pandemic seriously?

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