Outbreak?

I was a non-statistic in the non-outbreak of influenza-like illness that’s spreading across the country. Non-statistic because I did not go in to hospital – thank goodness for that! – and I am sure there are many other persons with cases of varying degrees of severity that likewise went unreported, simply because they just stayed home – like I did – and took the usual flu or cold medications and drowned the non-virus in fluids like teas and tisanes (sambong or ngai camphor worked wonders for my cough). By and large all those home remedies worked, including nightly tuob (steam inhalation), a folk remedy I wholeheartedly recommend. It not only steams out the toxins in the body, it leaves your skin so soft and supple – you’re getting a facial to boot!

ILI – that’s the new term, influenza-like illness, meaning it’s sort of like influenza but it isn’t: you may have the symptoms – fever, cough, body aches, tiredness – but not the virus. I guess it’s like sort of being pregnant: you may have the symptoms – morning sickness, cravings and all that – but you’re not pregnant.

As columnist Cito Beltran noted last Friday, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa seems very averse to declaring any health outbreak or emergency, in order, I suppose, to avoid public panic and paranoia. Or perhaps he was pre-occupied looking for those Super Health Centers that were supposed to be constructed but weren’t, or those that were built but are non-operational. In Japan, the Ministry of Health declared on Oct. 3 an epidemic; as of Oct. 10 Japan recorded 6,013 cases of flu, with over a hundred schools closed. Hereabouts, the DOH recorded 10,265 cases from Sept. 1 to 15 and 10,740 cases in the second half of last month and 6,457 cases from Sept. 28 to Oct. 11. Private hospitals though noted a 10 to 15 percent increase in admissions of ILI patients (mostly kids and seniors) this month compared to last month.

So does that qualify as an outbreak, or are we being alarmist? According to Google (who else do we ask?), “declaring a health outbreak is a formal recognition that a disease is spreading in a specific area beyond what is normally expected.” Health emergencies can be classified as an outbreak (sudden increase in cases of a disease in a specific, localized area), an epidemic (an infectious disease spreads rapidly to a large number of people in a larger geographic region) or a pandemic, the highest level of outbreak classification, with the disease spreading across borders, as was the case with Covid.

So maybe then we don’t quite have an outbreak, just a seasonal increase in sipon-lagnat-ubo, ILI or the flu. At any rate, this week’s declaration of a wellness break for schools is a welcome development; isn’t the Undas break usually also semestral break anyway? But with many people traveling to the provinces and then coming back after the break, will that facilitate the further spread of ILI? I guess we’ll just all have to self-care and take the usual recommended precautions of masking when necessary, avoiding crowds where possible, hydrating, practising basic hygiene and getting enough sleep. All that works – outbreak or no outbreak.

Reactions

The piece on death cleaning drew a flurry of reactions, not surprisingly from fellow seniors. Most voiced a resigned acknowledgment that yes, organizing, sorting out, de-cluttering – only one used the term “death cleaning” – is something that they should be doing – should be, being the operative phrase.

One lamented, “Ay naku, last year I said after Christmas I’ll clean out my cabinets; it’s now October and I haven’t even started with one drawer!” Two others tried – took a look at their storerooms and were so overwhelmed they just shut the door and gave up. A cousin from California is looking to get a copy of Ms. Magnusson’s book, perhaps to get added impetus, an extra push, to start the downsizing process.

Most of those who reacted were, not surprisingly, women (am I being sexist here?). One husband said his wife would take care of sorting out and giving away his things (she retorted that she’ll just throw all of his things in the basura) – assuming his wife will outlive him. Otherwise, he said, the kids and grandkids and everyone else can get whatever they want and the rest can go to typhoon victims.

I broached the subject of choosing whatever it is they may want from my stuff over family dinner one Sunday, and before I could even finish the offer my niece interjected, “Tita, I want your woks!” These are three cast iron woks of varying sizes handed down from my Amah (grandma), black and shiny from years of constant use over wood fire and gas fire, with our family tastes – and secrets – seared into them.

All of these reactions were quite expected. One reaction I did not expect and which proved to be quite enlightening came from a colleague, all of 27 years old, who was surprised (he tried to hide his amusement) that here I was, actually cleaning in preparation for death. I guess when you’re decades – half a century even – removed from being “between 80 and 100” and you’re just starting to accumulate things, this idea of de-cluttering, of paring down the accoutrements of one’s life, is as incomprehensible as a telephone with a rotary dial and a partyline.