How stars and friends abroad are coping with COVID-19 (Last of five parts)
On lockdown like everybody else, stars and friends living abroad are trying their best to cope with COVID-19. Quarantined at home, they follow almost the same routine (and trying to find rhythm and reason in it), very much like we do back hime. Let’s find out how they are faring out there.
Kenobi, 12.
• Giselle Tongi, Los Angeles, California
“My husband Tim Walters, 14-year-old daughter Sakura, 12-year-old son Kenobi and I have been at home in Los Angeles during this quarantine. I’ve been spending lots of time with my teenagers making puzzles, building Legos and reading a lot.
“In between reading, I have also been writing, particularly for my program for grad school. I’m in my third quarter of my Masters Program in Nonprofit Management at Antioch University, a social justice university. All of my cohorts and professors have shifted to online meetings. I am happy that in the midst of this pandemic, I still have an opportunity to learn and bring that application to my community in tangible ways.
“I am also the programming director of Fil-Am Arts, also known as the Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture. We were supposed to have our inaugural festival in San Pedro, California, last March 29, but because of the coronavirus, we had to cancel. My board and I managed to adaptively react and instead used Facebook to stream our over three-hour festival, which included Filipina artists from Manila (thanks to Ima Castro) to the Bay to L.A. Highlights were Ruby Ibarra, Jocelyn Enriquez and Kiana Valenciano, among others.
“I have since joined the Island Pacific Market team and have been leading the branding and marketing efforts to provide online shopping. We launched last April 16 successfully and I even got featured on ABC7 being interviewed in my living room!
“My family and I are keeping safe by staying home and occasionally going for a walk or a ride on my bike around the neighborhood. Practicing social distancing has been hard but we are all managing. Sending love to all my kababayan back home. Stay home. Stay safe.”
“Just got home from a 14-hour-straight work. So busy, very exhausted and need to get a long, good hot shower. Almost all our patients and in other hospitals are COVID-19 positive. I just had four patients on ventilators today, which was a very unusual load in my 35 years of working here.
“I used to be assigned at the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and since I have an ICU experience, I was pulled out to work in the ICU. I could just have stayed home (in New Jersey) but I thought what good are my skills if I don’t use them?
“Our PPE is ok, most importantly we must have an N95 mask, shield and gown. Our IV Drips are placed outside the room so that we limit our exposure. Once I go inside the room, I wear another gown over the protective gear that I’m already wearing.” (A native of Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Betty has also taken care of the 9/11 victims.)
• Maria Josefa “Joy” Sevilla, nurse/frontliner at a hospital in London
“My daily routine at home and when outdoors is, I guess, the same as that of healthcare workers here in London.
“My two sons have the option to work from home. We can go out for an hour to exercise or to buy food.
“Outdoor coats and shoes are taken off upon coming home. We use anti-bacterial handwash for our hands.The shopping bags are kept by the door and are thoroughly cleaned with anti-bacterial wipes afterward.
“As a frontline health staff, I report to the hospital wearing a mask (optional). We try to eat a balanced healthy diet as much as we can, and we take multi-vitamins to boost our resistance. We avoid crowded places and we practice social distancing at two meters apart even at home.
“Coming home from work, I place my used hospital uniform in a bag and it is washed separately from other clothing. Frequent hand washing with anti-bacterial handwash using the six-step Ayliffe technique is a must since one can spread the virus even if he’s not showing any symptoms.”
(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)
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