2020.04.01. We went out of the house!

(Now: Blogging.) 

And so, the hard lockdowns due to the raging pandemic are continuing. Being close to the capital region, we are in the location of the highest population density in the country; as such, there is a great risk for transmission if people were allowed to go out and mingle with others. Just a few days ago, the government announced the continuation of the “community quarantine” (a phrase I'm pretty sure they came up with to make it sound a little bit less harsher than a “lockdown”) in the capitol and in the adjacent provinces, including ours. 

Now, the thing is, we live in a gated subdivision with a very small population density, even compared to the other areas around us. In front of our main gate is a big wide area that is just being filled with houses (the progress is slow due to the issues within the government agency that gives out the loans to the developer, but that's a different story altogether). In fact, they have just started breaking ground on new construction, before the “quarantine” forced them into a complete halt. 

Views from within our subdivision. In the middle portion, the smoggy view of the north of Manila is captured.

Construction of new houses was completely and abruptly stopped due to the pandemic lockdown.

So we used the time to get out of our houses and take a short walk around the vast areas near our house. We figured we needed sunshine, and that going out into an open area with literally no people, especially in the early morning, will probably be okay. We brought mats. And masks, just to be safe. 

We just sat there and talked about the developments and news about the virus. My in-laws, who are staying with us, did some stretching, and, with our daughter, some dancing. I just paced back and forth, taking pictures of the views we are so used to seeing everyday. 

Due to the harsh conditions brought about by this deadly disease, these trivial things actually started to mean a lot. The mundane became special. The simplest thing of just literally going out of the house became an all-exciting activity. ■