The Narratives of COVID-19 (Part 1)

How did people reached the idea that if you wear a face mask, you have no faith in God?

I was asked by several people this question because I was wearing a face mask whenever I go out and meet people.

I am sometimes embarrassed, sometimes confused, whether wearing a face mask nowadays has become a symbol of unbelief in God’s omnipotence.

I am sometimes dismayed when I entered offices where people no longer wear face masks because they have “faith in God” or think that this pandemic is just one elaborate hoax, or they are safe because they are vaccinated.

This is the reason why “social distancing” and wearing face masks has become a charade. We try to observe “social distancing” for optics, but we revert to removing face masks as soon as possible.

Have we reached a point where COVID-19 has become something that we are no longer afraid of?

I think we do.

For most Filipinos, we have reached the “social ending” for the pandemic. It means that the fear of the virus and its dangerous effects are now swept aside by the people.

This is the reason those who are in the media and government need to remind people that the dangers of COVID-19 is real.

Just look at the news, it is an unstoppable flood of news items of various dangerous variants like the Delta variant, how those who are unvaccinated are in grave danger of dying from the virus, and how the economy is collapsing among many other similar narratives.

From a sociological point of view, this is an effort to overcome the "social ending" of COVID-19.

The social ending is so evident, you only need to look at the coffee shops, malls, beaches and mountain resorts. It is all back to business. Forget about the so-called health protocols being observed by those who are in there. It is all a farce. Nobody is enforcing it.

Many of us, may have gained new confidence because they are now fully vaccinated.

Nowadays, the conversation has shifted to another level; it has become a battle of narratives between those who “vaccinated and unvaccinated.