Denmark has run out of a reagent necessary to test for coronavirus; testing of healthcare personnel will have to be halted until supplies arrive. 11,657 have been tested, 1327 found positive, 206 hospitalized, 42 in the ICU. 13 have died.
100 million Danish crowns have been sent to foreign countries to help them fight COVID-19.
In Italy, the death toll rises by another 793. 4,825 in all have died.
In Manila, COVID-19 carries away University of the Philippines professor and sinologist Aileen SP Baviera, 60, who had contracted the coronavirus at a conference in Paris.
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I speak to my father via Facebook messenger. My mom, dad and nieces are fine in Dumaguete City, Philippines, which has taken the additional step of shutting down malls and shops. Only pharmacies, grocery stores and banks can remain open. Public transportation is still operational, though in this comparatively small Asian city, public transpo means motorcycles with sidecars, anachronistically called "pedicabs." The drivers rove the streets in vain; there simply aren't enough passengers to achieve a decent day's income.
We agree that this may be the one year since I migrated to Denmark that I won't be able to come home. We don't know what the situation will be like by summer. Which areas of the world will be considered high-risk? Will there be flights? Quarantines? Closed borders? When will the situation peak in the Philippines? The US? The UK? Maybe we will be spared the fate of Italy. We don't know. But I'm relieved he and my mother have accepted my possible absence; were in fact about to advise me to stay where I am.
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I take a walk, trying to smile and greet everyone I encounter along the path. Most smile back, but no one speaks to me. The day is beautiful, but people seem closed in, in the winter manner. Under an old coat, I have on a nice outfit -- pinstripes -- something I would wear to teach. It helps to imagine that, when all this ends, we can get back to our old normal.
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