Classes Suspended in SLU Until July 19
Apparently, upon reading Baguio news, there are 14 confirmed cases of AH1N1 in the Cordilleras — and of course, this covers an area ranging from Baguio and Benguet to Abra and Kalinga. 14 cases in an area that covers a whopping 19,294 square kilometer or 7,449.5 sq miles!
“Of the 14, seven have history of travel to countries with confirmed cases, three cases came from the USA, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.
All cases have already recovered, but there are 20 cases under observation, with pending laboratory results, the DOH added.”
I am also wondering if the city government, with the help of the local press, which just loves to scare everyone in this small town will do another Meninggococcemia thingy, with us in the headlines in national papers with wearing surgical masks while going to the beloved Baguio City Market that this government so badly wants to give to oh-so-bankrupt Uniwide Sales for Php10 per square meter for the next few decades.
WTF is AH1n1 and has the Tribulation Period Started?
It’s good to have the internet!
You can “google” (that’s the hip word for search) and Wikipedia will have the definition for it, and there will be links for scientific and governmental analyses of the “pandemic.”
“The health department reiterated that those who have symptoms should stay at home and avoid crowded areas until symptoms disappear. Contact a health care provider immediately if symptoms are felt.
Because A (H1N1) is transmissible through droplets, the public is advised to cover their mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. Tissue paper must be disposed properly and hands always must be clean.
Rest and drinking plenty of fluids and intake of paracetamol for fever and pain.”
And with the Philippines failing to make sure the country is productive, with a clean and predictable economic climate so we can attract foreign and local investors, we have decided to export labor instead of utilizing our natural and human resources and convince people that this is the way to survive, so we now have close to 10 million people exposed to the deadly flu coming home and bringing it with them.
My “born again” friends who are so into the Book of Revelations will insist that the world has entered the Tribulation period, with weird weather conditions and epidemics all over the place. Honestly, I cannot disagree with that line of thinking, because we have managed to get ourselves into this rut of global recession by welcoming with open arms that monster called globalization, this George Bush Sr “New World Order” seconded by our very own then President Fidel V Ramos (mid 1990s), and continued by our lovely GATT-sponsor-when-she-was-just-a-senator-Gloria-Arroyo.
So what to do? Build up your immune system, avoid crowded places (yeah right — how can you tell the students whose parents paid so much to send them to study here not to go to school or while classes are suspended not to hang around in SM City Baguio?), eat healthy, do not wait for symptoms to worsen before consulting a doctor, and basically believe in the “Solution to All Solutions” — PRAYER!
We just...
the tree-student proportion is actually worse. there are 26,700 students in SLU, and that is excluding of the highshool and elementary departments.
Yeah, I hate them for making another Meningo Thingy,,, I do not even believe in the existence of AH1Ewan here in BAguio, I hate it kc uupo na lang,,, nakakamiss mag-aral, but then anyways i have other things to process so there is time, which i am thankful… hey, i wnt to get to know you better coz i am headingt his Magazine to be circulated in the Cordillera and i want to get you as a writer… please do email me at john_rae2007@yahoo.com. Thanks, and gotta hear from you soon
Hi SLU 100,
That many!!! Wow, big business huh? And that number, I suppose does not include the academic and administrative staff, or the auxiliary services (canteens, supply shops, etc.).
Wouldn’t it be nice if SLU actually had a plant-a-tree program in school? Like removing some cement and having each student leave a tree behind so something of them remains within the complex for future generations to enjoy?
Hi JohnRae,
Good luck with your magazine (but honestly, I really cannot write when I am assigned to write) and I can maybe hook you up with some really terrific feature writers in Baguio City instead.
10 days of pure boredom. Despite the fact that others call it a blessing, I’d rather consider the suspension of class curse. Just when we are entering the prelim exam…saya naman ng timing oo. And all the other students are so grateful because of this but in my opinion, I think they wont be grateful if they knew what would happen when classes resume. Mabilisan ang pagbigay ng Assignments, groupwork etc. pag may klase na. I hahabol lahat ng topics that’s for sure.
Anyways; I lieu of what is happening in Baguio, I was wondering why the city officials did not quarantine the whole Benguet. Since, basing from news about the AH1N1, most people who are infected with AH1N1 are lowlanders who came from abroad and when they had the time to go to Benguet, it also traveled with them. (Correct me if I’m wrong with this assumption and I am NOT implying that lowlanders are ’sakitin’). Reminds of one commercial in the radio saying: “Kung malakas ang Turismo, maraming trabaho!” makes me think how people failed to look at the disadvantages of Tourism like garbage (as depicted by the “Baguio garbage crisis”), contagious diseases (Like meninggo and the all popular AH1N1) and population (as seen here in Baguio in which, most people here are not really from Baguio).
Wonder what happens when classes resume and another case or two of H1N1 crop up.
Hi Acid Rayne,
I can guarantee you that when tourism was the main industry in Baguio, no one was poor or starving.
Now that it’s diploma mill city, masses are unemployed and only school owners are rich, and Baguio has been suffering from the “jologism of the carinderias.”
It has been my assertion that garbage non-collection is deliberately timed for tourist season and to think Baguio is more populous when the 30,000-50,000 college students are here from out of town. Don’t tell me it’s JUST the tourists who bring the AH1N1 and besides, I did quote in the article that there are only 14 cases spanning the WHOLE Cordillera region, which is massive.
The rainy season always brings flu with it, we simply love to panic and make it a big deal. Because this disease is CURABLE. I would tend to agree with the Baguio oldtimer who once told me (cannot name him) “You know how it is… small town, small minds”
Too bad your school did not plan and assign you homework BEFORE classes were suspended. Other more progressive schools have websites where students can log on for assignments, too.
And I agree with your woes that this unplanned vacation will just put a strain on the students when classes resume.
Hiya Resty,
Then we can panic further and the DOH can ask for a bigger budget which it is doing now. What was the figure I heard, another 17 million or is this amount trivial?
Guys,
This whole thing would not be such a problem if folks would not allow themselves to be cooped up in such close quarters like overpopulated schools, crowded dormitories, tiny homes, would it? The point is, while we enjoy breathing everyone else’s carbon dioxide up close and personal, we also get their germs.