It’s an ill wind that blows no good, indeed, as the old saying goes. We are all stressed and worried about the progress of the COVID pandemic, not only in a few countries, but virtually worldwide. But it seems people are getting more prayerful and thoughtful of each other. I say this because, all of a sudden, I began hearing from old friends, not only within the country, but also abroad, showing their concern and assuring us of their prayers. What could I do but respond that I am praying for them, too?
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And what we are all praying for is like a chorus in imploring the good Lord to remove this deadly virus that has, until now, not yet been conquered, even by the world’s best minds in science and medicine. The last news I heard was about a volunteer for a vaccine under experimentation who fell ill after taking it. The reports later did not mention whether or not he survived. So when, Oh when, will mankind discover a means to stop this malady that has confounded our best minds in science and medicine?
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Ah, there was a report yesterday that there is reason to hope that we will have a vaccine by early 2021. So let us altogether pray that the ones developing it will be inspired by the Good Lord so that they will succeed in producing one. But COVID is not the only malady that is troubling the world now. In some countries, big fires have been raging that seem unstoppable despite the efforts of the most experienced firefighters and the most sophisticated equipment. Sometimes I feel fear that such fires are intended to give sinful people to have an idea of what hell must be like!
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Everytime I hear or see reports about a so-called “flattening of the curve” in the fight against the virus, I always start praying for the success of those involved in the fight against it. It seems this pandemic is so vicious that it does not spare anyone, sinners and saints are equally affected. But at least we should be thankful that our government is doing everything it can to help those stricken. That and our prayers will surely be heard in heaven, and make it send consolation to those stricken and inspiration to those afflicted.
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Meanwhile, I hope everybody is also praying for this virus to go away and spare the people of the world, that has been helpless against its onslaught, so far. In our DAILY STAR family, two victims have been hit and has caused a lot of anxiety and worry among the rest of the staff. First to be declared positive was our reporter, Shiela Gelera, who is still under quarantine in Silay. The next victim was our editor, Carla Gomez, who is now confined in a hospital after testing negative! But thank God, who has listened to our choral prayers, both are recovering, but still under quarantine. Please pray with us for their complete recovery.
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In the United States however, preoccupation seems to be focused on their coming presidential election which the incumbent, Donald Trump, is trying to hold on to. I think it doesn’t help him any that some people are now blaming him for the surges of the pandemic that he apparently knew about before it worsened. His lame excuse is that he was trying to downplay its seriousness in order not to alarm the people! What kind of decision-making is that? Would “down-playing” have stopped the virus in its tracks? His reason, as quoted in the media, was that “We wanna show confidence. We wanna show strength”!
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Well, now maybe, American voters will respond to that by saying, “We wanna man who cares for our health. We wanna man who knows how to lead”. In the meantime, his country is not only suffering from its COVID cases and deaths, being Number One in the number of cases and, possibly also deaths, and what is he gonna do about it? By the way the latest statistics I took down from TV shows the United States as Number One in the number of cases, second is China, third Brazil, fourth Russia, and fifth South Peru.
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The latest reports show, also however, that India is fast catching up with the topnotchers. That is not unlikely, since it is among the most populous countries. We don’t know, though if their people are observing the “protocols” as faithfully as ours, and I am referring to the wearing of masks and social distancing. Also our curfews also help in preventing late gatherings where people often get careless about the rules. Despite that, we still have a lot of cases and fatalities which should warn and terrify those who ignore even the minimum protection and matters to avoid to keep the virus at bay.*
