The virus knows how to pivot, too. So be careful out there.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to BusinessWorld’s motoring section — the second since its rechristening as “Velocity.”
To this day, I can’t believe that I spent a good chunk of last year at home sending Word files and photos instead of being physically putting to bed each issue at the paper’s Quezon City office. But most of us had no choice but to evolve our lives in the face of an unseen enemy. The coronavirus, as it turns out, was also evolving as humans passed it around. It was veritably pivoting to maximize, well, the velocity of its replication and transmission.
I recall we had grand plans for the first anniversary of the section — most of which were, in the final analysis, waylaid by something we couldn’t see. It was a sucker punch that landed when we least expected it. Marking that first year was understandably muted as we were on hard lockdown.
There’s an odd sense of déjà vu as we put this issue to bed knowing we’ve just surpassed 7,000 new cases for the day. I don’t know about you, but I sense that a harder lockdown is imminent.
Now don’t get me wrong. I hated the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) as much as you did, but it doesn’t inspire confidence when so many of us aren’t respecting the virus by flouting protocols (I mean, how hard is it to wear a mask properly?). Then we hear of entire families being infected because they had wanted to party (or even just have a meal) with relatives and friends not from the same household. So, “Velocity” turns a year older in relative silence. We say a prayer for those no longer with us, and another one for those of us here who soldier on despite the difficulties.
And while we ask God for help, let us not forget to do our part as well.