Published: 31 December 2020

I hope despite the restrictions you are all still able to celebrate New Year's Eve nicely with your family and loved ones. As from my side, we held a virtual party trying to fit in, in all the time zones. We didn't have a huge celebration this year as we can't anyway have any guests and we are really very careful the whole time. The same goes for my family. So instead we called each other in Skype and when it was New Year's in the Philippines, we toasted it virtually. It was different but nice to see that all of us in my family are healthy; except for my brother in the US who caught a cold few days before.

So this time, let's all leave the bad things behind in 2020 and embrace 2021 with a huge hope that we will all get out of this in one piece. I hope one day, when things get back to normal, that we all remember what 2020 taught us and be grateful that we were able to survive it.

With this, I wish everyone a safe and relaxing New Year!

Published: 25 December 2020

I would say this was one of the most bizarre events of all times. Everyone was in some form of lockdown and in the city where I live, the liveliness of the surroundings was zero. Though shops were open and hotels were open, there were some limitations. And as for our case, we stayed at home most of the time and did not mingle with friends whom we know. Gift giving was sent out via online stores, and almost no more socialising, which I found a bit sad.

But what can we do, the time since October has seen the infection rate just surge by many % and at some point, the medical system in Switzerland will collapse if nothing is done, yet there are others who still don't believe the virus is real. I think there are 2 things, the spreading of the virus to everyone especially to those who are vulnerable and the overloading of the hospitals. Imagine that you will have an accident, which of course I don't wish to anyone, and suddenly you need to be brought to the hospital. However, when you arrive there, there is no space for you because it has all been taken over by the COVID19 patients. And this is what others don't understand.

At some point, I stand back because I just see how stupid people can be and there is nothing really that you can do. Let's stay healthy and end this pandemic soon!

Published: 13 July 2020

On 6th July, the Swiss Federal Council finally made the wearing of masks mandatory for everyone travelling on public transports i.e. SBB trains, buses, trams, cable cars & ships.

After this announcement it made me feel hopeful that in the future we can get through this. I am relieved to know that the Swiss government is showing some concern for the people after the rate of infections rose to 3 digits again reaching 137 on 1st July, just before the mask-wearing was put in place.

I almost broke down when I saw this increase because it looks like we are going back to the situation in March/April. I just couldn’t help but feel very sad, but on the other side, people don’t see this as a means of solving the pandemic that we are in. Instead, I was reading some peoples reaction & complaints about why it is needed, and that this is all propaganda and that the government just want to get rid of the surplus masks because there are so many leftovers. You know it made me sad more because I couldn’t imagine that at this time, there are still idiots, self-centred and egotistical who don’t have a grip on what is going on right now. Some then were saying that if they will be forced to wear masks they will just take their skateboards to the office, some then said that they will go by car and even there are some who asked how can I eat my Gipfeli when I have a mask? How ridiculous could that be?

For fuck sake, we are in a middle of the pandemic and some can still even afford to make such comments. I just find it pathetic because people like this are the main reason why we can’t get back to norm!

A friend of mine from Japan, once shared that in Japan they didn’t have a total lockdown, businesses continued, people are going to work, but even though the government didn’t enforce masks on the people, the people just took the initiative to wear the masks. Everybody understood that there is a pandemic and it requires cooperation from everyone. But here in Switzerland the first thing I’ve read how can I eat my Gipfeli or how can I drink my coffee?
I really don’t understand these people why can’t they just cooperate until we can finally flatten this virus. But hell no, these kind of people will always find ways to complain and not to help...

I find it sad that they are not prepared to support and help one another. People like these selfish, egotistical and ignorant idiots, might be the reason why we will not be able to come out on the other side successfully. And hopefully, if they ever catch COVID-19, I pray that they will be able to survive it, but if not I’ll not have any sympathy for them. I’ll be glad if these kind of people will be fewer in society!
Still keep safe everyone!

Published: 29 June 2020

Looking forward to a good start for July 2020! I am really not happy at the moment with the Swiss government lifting the COVID-19 restrictions and changing the social distance from 2 meters to 1.5 meters. It poses so many questions, such as what is the basis of the social distance? I thought this was the distance that droplets could travel when sneezing... In which case we now have heavy droplets or less powerful sneezes – you tell me, but the implication is that droplets from sneezes clearly travel less far than they did a couple of weeks ago. 

We were following the BAG (Bundesamt für Gesundheit) and also the Worldometer for the coronavirus aka COVID-19 updates right after the lifting up of the restrictions. I am sure everyone was very happy that things will be back to normal. In fact, I am one of them as we were already wandering around the city and even went out to eat out for breakfast in one of our favourite places.  I could see life and again things are getting back to normal and people are just enjoying the freedom and the nice weather. But, the news getting worse every day. The number of new cases is just increasing. It is not just a simple 2-4 new cases here and then but a huge jump from a mere 10-15 cases to now a 50-70 cases which is 4-500% higher. And the response of the responsible government minister. We are doing very well, no need to panic and no need for extra precautions. 

I guess what frustrates me is the people are just irresponsible and selfish denying there is any kind of issue at all. Everyone is out and about, without any thought of the physical distance anymore. People are acting as if the virus has gone; but what they don't understand is, the virus is still there and we are still in the middle of a PANDEMIC. The only reason why the Swiss government ended the extraordinary situation and the measures they imposed was to save the economy. This is the main reason. Now if you are following the trend, you can tell that we might be dragging ourselves into another lockdown.