Dodging past a pandemic first hand !

In Dec of 2019 I clearly remember to be busy charting my plan for the year to come. I was on a vacation in India and emails crisscrossed between me and my business contacts, affiliated organizations, work partners and friends. In fact, I had a more than a full year on hand, with trips and travels spread across the whole year. Little did I know then that the year will turn out to be just the opposite.

Passing through Singapore

In mid-January I left India and passed Singapore on my way to Philippines in the midst of a report of a SARS-CoV type outbreak in Wuhan China in some media. It was not yet a headline news as the information coming out was sketchy. In Singapore nothing looked out of place, as people crisscrossed with carefree exuberance. Frolicking backpackers mixed with intense looking businessmen mixed from all corners of the globe, as had happened always in this country. This was also the time for heightened tourism as holidays were being used to travel as much as possible. Flights from China were landing in Singapore. All looked normal in spite of the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) had confirmed a case of COVID-19 in Thailand, the first recorded case outside of China by this time. This was the first indication the virus is travelling from its source. It was a concern but how much remained unknown at that time. My stay in the city-state was very short and without any concern I had left the place without any extra thought.

Back in Philippines I followed the news and soon the reality of a global spread of the virus was coming to light. The news broke on January 30 of a Chinese national infected with a Wuhan type of virus in Philippines. On February 2, the first confirmed death outside mainland China was announced from Philippines. This was a Chinese national visiting Philippines. On February 5, the first local Filipino to have contracted the virus was announced. The list soon grew as days passed and made me realize we are heading for another SARS type situation if not more.

A conference amidst crisis

My concern was particularly grave because I had a pre-planned trip coming. As the date neared the confusion about the trip turned to be grimmest. The trip was to Taiwan, to participate in a pre-organized conference. Uncertainties about the conference was put in doubt from late-January as reports the disease in Taiwan was coming out. There were request for postponement and cancellation from die-hard participants. This had put the organizers in a dilemma and they went scurrying for help from the Taiwanese Health officials. The official insisted there is no problem in any type of attendance as long as strict rules of social distancing and hygiene is implemented throughout the meeting and activities connected to the meeting.    

I flew into Taiwan amidst a creeping doubt around travelling. The airport hardly showed any difference as people unaware crowded themselves at every point. I was maintaining my distance as much as possible. This is the first time I will be travelling with mask and sanitizers as part of the travel wears. I wore them throughout the trip and on my arrival filled up medical questionnaire about my health condition. As I arrived WHO had already given a name to the virus and they called it “Covid-19”.

The same day of my arrival, a news broke that many countries including Philippines had decided to shut passenger service to Taiwan. These countries did this by withdrawing their airlines services to and from Taipei with immediate effect. The politics between China and Taiwan is sour. China had considered Taiwan as part of One-China policy. This policy includes the territory of Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan is against this policy and had kept its identity very clear as an independent country. China on the other hand could not interfere much except putting pressure on other countries around the world to exclude Taiwan from their list of countries with diplomatic relations. This exclusion and consideration of Taiwan as part of China had kept Taiwan out from the WHO, along with other United Nations bodies. Under these circumstances when countries decided to bar flights from China, Taiwan unfortunately was included in their list and so started this fiasco.

My good fortune my return trip was booked with Taiwanese national airline, which had decided not to stop its flights under any circumstances. This ensured my return trip in a week time unaffected, as I though then.

Encounter with pangolin in Taipei Zoo

Ironically the conference was held inside Taipei Zoo and the central attraction of the zoo is the pangolin dome.  As a sponsor, an expert from the zoo was invited to give a small lecture about this unique animal and its habits. Later we all visited the pangolin enclosure to view the animal firsthand. While witnessing this creature and taking pictures little we all realized that the origins of the virus would be someway attached to this animal.  It appears that SARS-CoV-2 most probably originated from mutation within human hosts during late 2019, following zoonotic transfer of a SARS-CoV-2 like ancestor from another species, most likely a pangolin. Pangolin are heavily traded in China for their claims of having medicinal values and a possibility that these animals were present in the Wuhan seafood market is theorized by many. No one cautioned us and the visitors that day, and unwary as we were, we all had a good time with the central attraction.

Caught in Cross border politics

Arrival back to the Taipei airport on my return, I was stopped from issuance of my boarding pass by the airlines as I was not a Filipino citizen and my permanent resident visa was not included in the airline charter for passenger travel. The carrier was carrying only citizens and all foreigners were excluded. In this situation I had only two options with me, either to stay back in Taipei as long as it takes to clear my travel back to Philippines or fly out to India where as a citizen I will be allowed into the country. However, on checking the flight schedules I quickly found there were no planes to India in another two days. Not knowing what next to do, I had called my lawyer in Philippines and was advised to travel to India as the best way to beat the stalemate. I went looking for a hotel nearest to the airport. This way I can be in the airport and also keep myself updated with the developments.

As I checked in, out of a blue I received a call from my Lawyer informing me that there is a news flash in Manila – informing that flights from Taiwan can resume normal service. This extraordinary decision was taken by the Philippine cabinet under request from Taiwan representative. I took this breaking news and details from internet back to the airlines checking counter and asked them to take a look. Over the next few hours, through deliberation I made convinced them to take me. The flight being delayed because of a technical reason further helped me. I was soon inside  the plane and flying back to Philippines.

Fear of drops and droplets  

Manila had turned as the focus city in Philippines for Covid-19. I recalled at the start of the year a well know astrologer in Channel News Asia (CNA) had predicted that the year 2020 will bring large scale disaster related to water. She sat in one of the morning shows and elaborated how water could turn to be a major concern for humans in the year. She focused on flood and rain mostly. How true we have a droplet as our major concern now with this pandemic. The term “droplet”, as used in this context, consists mostly of water with various inclusions, depending on how it is generated. Naturally produced droplets from humans, e.g. droplets produced by breathing, talking, sneezing, coughing includes various cells types, electrolytes contained in mucous and saliva as well as, potentially, various infectious agents such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.

It is now known that sneezing may produce as many as 40 000 droplets expelled at speeds up to 100 meter per second, whereas coughing may produce up to 3000 droplet nuclei, about the same number as talking for five minutes. 

 Living ten weeks under lockdown

 The dreaded thought of drops and droplets had sent all scurrying for cover. People decided to take protection their own way. Official and custodian of law turned out to be more than strict. Fear of prosecution and heavy handedness made citizens remain indoor. For me there was nothing else but to lock myself similarly. Living is the center of the city and in a red zone made my situation worse than others. The streets emptied, the metro rail adjacent closed and shops downed their shutters. All of these swept away the city noises and suddenly plunged the surrounding into an uncharacteristic charm. As days past I experienced an environment never experienced as before staying in this city. The early morning brought in flocks of birds to the single tree adjacent to the building. I had never seen them there before. The sky above remained spotless from traffic of planes. The evening sunset tuned crisper and the night sky loomed brighter. I even spotted a shooting star once.

 The media had plenty to howl in the meantime.  Stopped by an invisible, incurable malice in a speed, which even defeated computer models, the media wrote their own descriptive scripts. The experts in the field however remain clueless and mum, leaving politicians and social groups to take the lead. No amount of optimism from them seem to dissolve the conundrum it has created. Fake news circulated from on claims of vaccines and cure. Eventually a shattered economy and unacceptable number of deaths left me thinking - are we indeed back in stone age.

 

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