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When the Philippine government imposed a community lockdown in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces, we were anxious and excited at what this could possibly mean to the work that some of us do. I initially thought that the community quarantines would only last for a few weeks up to a month, but another quarter had passed, then another. We are now in our eighth month, and for people like me who had been mostly working from home, many adjustments had to be made. After working in an office for over a decade, I had to adjust to this new working environment.

In the early days of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March, my wife and I had to strategize on how to secure our groceries. We had to decide on who should go out, and where and when to. We spent hours falling in line while ensuring to observe all the safety protocols being enforced by the government. We knew back then that we had to find a new way of doing groceries and other activities because we were spending so much time potentially exposing ourselves to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Earlier this year, one of Czech Republic’s hospitals, which is also a coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) testing laboratory, became a victim of a cyberattack. The attack forced the hospital to shut down its information technology network, postpone surgeries and move some of its patients to other hospitals. With the pandemic still in full swing here in the Philippines, these cyberattacks on other countries’ hospitals pose as a warning for our healthcare industry to take cybersecurity seriously.

It has been six months since our Philippine government implemented the Covid-19 pandemic measures on lockdown and various versions of community quarantine within and outside Metro Manila. In those six months, like any other excited couple who had already prepare for almost a year for their wedding, my fiancée and I were devastated when we had to reschedule our church wedding that was supposedly in June 2020.

One afternoon, I was sitting across a table from my two daughters. My two-year-old was eating her snack: a chocolate wafer. After putting it in her mouth, she got hold of her green plastic cup and reached for something in it. When she opened her hand, there was a small piece of ice. She then slowly brought her palm toward her mouth. I saw excitement in her eyes as her palm came closer. But as she was about to eat the ice, her palm slightly tilted, causing the ice to slip and fall to the floor.

Last weekend, I learned how to make self-watering pots out of recycled soda bottles. I was worried that my kangkong (water spinach) cuttings would wither if I put them in pots. Since kangkong is a semiaquatic plant, its soil must be always moist. As I tend to forget my plants when I have deadlines, I had to research on how to keep their water supply constant.

Earlier this month, my second daughter approached me. She was crying as she recounted how her younger sister bit her arm. Less than a minute later, the younger one came running to me, as well. Since she is not yet able to talk well, I can only guess she was also complaining about her older sister and probably explaining why she bit her older sister. This was happening while I was trying to listen to the meeting I was attending from home.

I can still recall the day the government announced that the National Capital Region and the entire Luzon would be put under enhanced community quarantine starting on March 17, 2020. It was the biggest curveball thrown at us. The uncertainties marking those first few days of the lockdown were just too much to process. But in a way, I was excited for the opportunity to work from home. I surely would not miss being stuck in the horrendous Manila traffic four hours a day. Besides, I thought then, the quarantine could probably be over in a few weeks.