While many people in Negros Oriental have been counting 14 days, waiting with bated breath for the official status of the eight persons under investigation for the dreaded novel CoronaVirus, others dependent on a hand-to-mouth subsistence are worried at the gravity the situation has been causing.
For Roel, 43, who made hay driving foreigners to Dauin on his pedicab, business has been very bad. “Nigamay jud among pasahero. Namingaw ang amoang pamiyahe tungod anang nCoV.”
(Our number of passengers decreased. Our trips have become too few and far between due to nCoV.)
He said he is also now afraid to give foreign tourists a ride.
“Negative ra man tong lima sa mga PUI pero na apektohan jud ‘tawon ang among pamugas,” said Roel. (The five PUIs have tested negative of nCoV but it has already unfortunately affected our livelihood.)
He said he keeps himself informed by watching the news on TV.
When asked if his daily income from pedicab driving has been slashed to half, he said, “Dili lang tunga, nawala jud!” (Not only cut in half but I lost it all.)
He explained that if not for his suki (regular) whom he takes daily to her workplace, “Wala jud koy abot sa adlaw,” he lamented. (I wouldn’t have any income for the day.)
“Baling mingawa ang siudad kay wala nay mangla-ag tungod anang virus,” Roel said. (The place is deserted because no one is on tour anymore due to the virus.)
He said at least there’s one consolation in this crippling times: “Ni os-os gamay ang gasolina.” (Gas prices have dropped.)
The price rollback by at least P2.00 per liter was due to what industry players said is a normal movement in gas pricing.
Timmy Yrad, on the other hand, has not quite felt the pinch of the nCoV situation. Yrad, who operates a fleet of vans and cars in Negros Oriental, said they have always just happened to cater to either Filipino tourists or Europeans. “So far, its’ been okay as our guests continue to arrive.”
But he noted a “very big decline” for his friends who are also in the service/transport business who had been servicing mainly Chinese clients. “I feel sorry for them they have had at most a 90 percent drop in their clients from China.”
As an alternative to the expected declining tourist arrivals, Yrad said they have begun following up on their regular contacts like local government units, call centers, hospitals, schools, and the airlines to cater to their transport needs.
To help protect his vehicle drivers, he has required them to wear face masks, put alcohol/alcogel in their units, and to wash their hands every now and then. “Because of this nCoV, we have prohibited handshakes between driver and passengers, and have refrained from accompanying the passengers inside malls or big restaurants where many other tourists are.”
Yrad said they have been more stringent in cleaning the interiors of their vehicles like washing the vinyl floor mats with soap, spraying Lysol on leather seats, and washing of seat covers.
Roel also now drives his pedicab wearing a mask, and rubs his hands with alcohol after collecting fares, upon the strict instructions of his wife. “Ga-roving nalang ko pero talagsa ra lagi ang pasahero; lahi ra gud sa una.” (I just go on roving mode but only get a few passengers some of the time; it’s simply different from how it was before [the outbreak of nCoV].)
A ground crew personnel at the Sibulan Airport, who facilitates passengers at the check-in counter, said his best antidote to the nCoV situation is prayers. “I just religiously take my vitamins everyday, do proper personal hygiene, exercise, but most of all, pray to God — that’s the best medicine we have.”
On Friday, the third day when all classes in all levels in the Province had been suspended by the Governor, pedicab driver Roel said he finally saw a few tourists down in Dauin. “Pero dili na mga Chinese, mga foreigners lang.” (But they were not anymore the usual Chinese; they were foreigners [from other countries].) (Irma Faith Pal)
