Omicron wave - my story

[hullexile]

Be careful what you wish for.

So before Christmas mother in law was sick. Taken to hospital by ambulance and kept in for investigation (CT scan, colonoscopy, heart scan). Needs major surgery. Moved from the private hospital in the adjoining city to the public hospital in the next city. Delayed while the money is sorted out and blood donors arranged (yep you need to do that yourself here). Then delayed again while they stabilise her heart. All the time of course bills and other expenses keep going up.

Then the omicron wave. Mother in law tests positive and has to move to the quarantine ward, operation delayed, bills and expenses keep coming. Even the travelling is expensive. Then one by one the whole extended family catches covid. Another one in hospital the rest of us home quarantine.

Here there is no sick pay for most (they are now looking to introduce it) so just when money is needed the whole family is off work and unpaid.

I am sure this is a story repeated in one form or another across the country.

So a fucking nightmare both in terms of getting the mother in law operated on and out of pain and financially for us and the whole family.

[MABinPengChau]

Sorry to hear of your nightmare, sounds like Philippines is just like the US in terms of paid time off when you need it most. This thing is so contagious, even people who are vaccinated and who have been doing everything right are getting it...

[HK_Katherine]

Sorry to hear of your plight. Everyone i know in Philippines either has it now or its running through the family. On the plus side, far fewer deaths and getting immunity deep into community, which will help the country in the long term, and likely to leave as fast as it arrived. Not a consolation in the short term though. Hang in there.

[sunnymove]

Everyone I know here in the Philippines is getting it and infecting their families. Lots of underreporting as I know quite a few who can't afford to get tested or don't want to shell out the 50-75 USD for testing and I can't blame them. It's so contagious - even my uncle who has left home three times in 2 years somehow got it and we have no idea where from. I hope more get boosters as those who I know who got it have been recently vaccinated or have boosters so they're faring well but it's still frightening. I hope you and your family are alright in all aspects including financial.

[Cheeky Kiwi]

It's so contagious - even my uncle who has left home three times in 2 years somehow got it and we have no idea where from.

But we're not seeing this in crowded HK; there is no tsunami.

Why?

[sunnymove]

No clue. I know people like my uncle who got it from unknown sources. I also know people who have infected families; on the flip side, I have friends whose spouses have not caught it despite them testing positive. Here banks and the government both are operating on reduced hours; 100+ infections at the SEC and 30+ infections in various bank branches because it just ripped through here so quickly over Christmas/New Year.

The guess is that it is infecting people but the vaccine + immune systems of the individual is able to overpower the virus. But your guess is as good as mine - despite no hard-style lockdown Manila is a ghost town again as the numbers are 22k to 40k depending on whether testing day was a weekend or not. Would love for the tsunami to stop.

[hullexile]

No clue. I know people like my uncle who got it from unknown sources. I also know people who have infected families; on the flip side, I have friends whose spouses have not caught it despite them testing positive. Here banks and the government both are operating on reduced hours; 100+ infections at the SEC and 30+ infections in various bank branches because it just ripped through here so quickly over Christmas/New Year.

The guess is that it is infecting people but the vaccine + immune systems of the individual is able to overpower the virus. But your guess is as good as mine - despite no hard-style lockdown Manila is a ghost town again as the numbers are 22k to 40k depending on whether testing day was a weekend or not. Would love for the tsunami to stop.

I think it has plateaued. Tsunami is the only way to describe it, no idea what percentage of the population have it. Positivity rate has edged down from 47% to 44% and I wouldn't be surprised if the population figure wasn't far off that.

Somebody said there is no point raising the alert level because no one is going out anyway.

Hospitalisation, severe cases, deaths are holding though. Once this is through I think we will be in a better position.

[Coolboy]

I think it has plateaued. Tsunami is the only way to describe it, no idea what percentage of the population have it. Positivity rate has edged down from 47% to 44% and I wouldn't be surprised if the population figure wasn't far off that.

Somebody said there is no point raising the alert level because no one is going out anyway.

Hospitalisation, severe cases, deaths are holding though. Once this is through I think we will be in a better position.

Don't want to belittle your difficulties, but at this rate, won't the vast majority of Filipinos in the country will get infected pretty soon? Could the Philippines then achieve heard immunity?

[qhank]

Don't want to belittle your difficulties, but at this rate, won't the vast majority of Filipinos in the country will get infected pretty soon? Could the Philippines then achieve heard immunity?

Unless there is a way to force all those people who're voluntarily staying home to go out and get infected, you won't achieve herd immunity this way.

[hullexile]

Don't want to belittle your difficulties, but at this rate, won't the vast majority of Filipinos in the country will get infected pretty soon? Could the Philippines then achieve heard immunity?

Yes, that is what I meant by being in a better position. Obviously another variant could come along.