Covid-19 and its effects

Beverly Pacyaya-Ticobay

Coronavirus Disease 2019, also known as Covid-19, has paralyzed today’s globalized, fast-paced world. Reports have surfaced that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 was manufactured.

Here’s what we know: It belongs to a family of viruses called Coronavirus, due to the presence of crown-like structures that surround their surface – a unique feature of this family of viruses. Four of the seven known coronaviruses regularly cause mild disease in humans and these viruses have been identified since the mid-1960s.

The remaining three, a group wherein the SARS-CoV-2 belongs, are coronaviruses that originally only infected non-humans and have since developed the ability or trick to be able to cross species and infect humans.

This virus isn’t artificially manufactured, there is no proof for that, reports say. Rather, it’s been put in an environment that allowed it to evolve.

SARS-CoV-2 originally only infected bats. And, similar to SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) and MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus), it developed the uncanny ability to cross-species and infect humans.

Now, viruses are curious little critters in a class of their own. They appear to be non-living things outside of a host, and when inside one, they usurp a cell’s basic life functions to replicate itself, reproduce before popping out of that host cell to infect other neighboring cells. Environment is a major driving factor to evolution and mutation and we’ve successfully altered that not just for us, but for everyone and everything on this planet -- intentional or not.

Our activities carry a great impact to our lives and even greater for those after us. Hello global warming, but this can be a topic for another story so let’s talk Covid-19.

While much of the world remains paralyzed, we see countries, localities slowly trying to reboot their economy. Resources are limited and most quarantine protocols, lockdown protocols right now are akin to bunkers with insufficient supplies (i.e. food, water and medicines) and even if those supplies are abundant, it is bound to run out unless actions are taken.

So now we see lockdowns being lifted, some are successful, some aren’t; and quarantine measures being relaxed, again, some see relative success, others not.

Before ranting about an ineffective, inefficient government, one has to know that there are still puzzling details about Covid-19 and the spread of the virus.

Areas with the same hot climate aren’t considered safe spots from the virus as Covid-19 case count differences taking into account climate seem insignificant.

Places whose population share the same gene pool and have relaxed quarantine protocols are seeing different outcomes. Why thrombosis and clotting disorders happen as reported by Covid-19 patients is still a question that needs to be answered.

But findings indicate the older population are at higher risk of contracting the disease and experiencing severe illness. Having pre-existing medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease, and being immunocompromised could put one at higher risk for severe illness.

Proper hygiene and frequent hand-washing with soap can help prevent infection, medical experts say. And with these, governments have come up with critical policies that have since helped lower the infection rate although some have been criticized.

Thus, rallies, protests and petitions like online petitions were held that did not result to careless mass gatherings were justified. These public dissent have resulted to checking of mistakes in addressing the virus. This pandemic has highlighted and/or exposed the different flaws, shortcomings of individuals and institutions. It has also become the pre-cursor to new measures and methods of rebuilding communities, societies and countries like education.

Mass gatherings are highly discouraged, and even if young and healthy people are at lesser risk of severe Covid-19 illness, they may go home to people who are.

With the Philippines’ extended family set-ups, hospitals are overrun with patients. a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is yet to be developed and having protection from SARS-CoV-2 re-infection after a successful recovery is not yet guaranteed.

In addressing education, the Philippines’ system is designed for traditional classroom learning. We’ve only had a few generations of home-schooled graduates, as well as a few home-schooling institutions. Teachers are not trained to deliver lessons online, at times, even ill-equipped to do so.

Educational institutions are faced with the huge task of re-designing course curriculums to fit the “new normal” and to ensure that course delivery strategies are as inclusive as much as possible and stays affordable for all their students.

Struggles to resolve financial constraints from low enrolment turnouts, suspended investments and incomplete projects also add to this concern for schools. It does not end there.

Parents and students face challenges as well. Many are getting laid-off work, getting pay cuts while they try to deal with new expenditures like investing in a capable laptop, reliable and fast internet connection, and more.

On modular approach which mostly follows a home-schooling design, parents may not afford a home-school teacher or even have time to teach their kids while trying to make ends meet.

With online and modular, home-based learning, schools have to have greater faith in their students and students themselves have to abide to an honor code if they want to have tangible, learning outcomes.

Now, more than ever, parents/guardians, schools and students have to fit themselves to a certain dynamic and form a team-based community.

Perhaps the bigger questions on everyone’s mind are: Can this new normal for education work? Will students be able to learn as much online or via modular, home-based learning? And is investing on online learning devices and services now a sound investment? What if normal face-to-face classes resume next term? And if it does, will that mean one’ll have invested on online learning tools only to not need it as much then?

These are questions made more real by botched expectations of once promised shorter or cheaper tertiary-level education (with the removal of general education subjects) with the K-12 program.

Whether K-12 is bad or there is need to step up our educational standards to equal global ones are concerns. Education may not have gotten the proper preparation for smoother transition for students, parents and teachers.

A more standard quality education and curriculum may make senior-high graduates not having to catch-up with others from other senior high schools when they reach college and tertiary education providers may not be compelled to deal with it.

Online learning along with modular, home-based may be the norm for long.

Online learning and home schooling, like SARS-CoV-2, are not new. Home-schooled kids can do well when they transfer to classroom-based learning. Online certificates and for now, earning degrees in selected fields of study are as real as this pandemic.

Also, while nobody should wish for it, this isn’t the first pandemic and it may not very well be the last.