Preparation for the Big One, CoViD-19 came
Mary Grace G. Sambo
The Philippines is situated at the Pacific Ring of Fire. That is why our country is encountering numerous earthquakes and tsunamis over the years. We are facing this kind of situation because our homeland is home of frequent active fault lines and several trenches. Our Government is very active in promoting the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) to encourage the people from Education to be ready for the coming of The Big One. Public and private schools are all required to participate on the said drill every quarter to train the learners from kindergarten all the way to college be to calm and be familiarize will the three important steps if there will be shaking of ground which is Drop, Cover and Hold and to identify their respective evacuation area.
Till recently a different Big One came to our planet. The Corona Virus invade almost the entire world with its fatal virus that killed hundreds and thousands of people all over the world. No one is equipped for the coming of this deadly virus. We were not ready to combat for this diseased. Schools we’re immediately close the academic school year and started disinfecting the school facilities and premises to avoid the spreading of the virus to our learners. Until the Philippine government proclaims for the temporary closure of all establishments and everyone is mandated to stay at home. We did not anticipate this even the experts did not imagine that COVID 19 will come and kill people
Now let us now face the New Normal caused by Corona Virus. We can help our government administration and the specialists to stop and reduce spreading COVID 19 by taking some simple precautions:
1.Frequently washing of hands.
2.Practice social distancing when going out
3.Avoid crowed places
4.Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
5.Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough
6.Stay at home
7.If you have fever, cough and difficulty in breathing seek for medical attention.
8.Keep updated on the latest information from trusted sources
Though learning thru our experiences the experts like doctors, scientist and pharmacies are still searching for the best solution to formulate and discover a vaccine that will stop and eliminate the spreading of virus. While waiting for the vaccine let us embrace the reality that the Big one is not just for earthquakes or tsunamis but it is also for COVID-19 that can kill more on what we expected when the Big One strike.
--oOo—
The author is Teacher III at Lourdes Northwest Elementary School, Angeles City