WHY WE NEED TO CONSERVE WATER

Three months into the pandemic, so many lives were and are still affected. I never thought we will enter a new decade na gusto mo pag gising mo that this is not our reality. But sad to say, it is. Many livelihoods are affected, too. And our cases of Covid-19 are still rising everyday. Our normal way of life has been abruptly halted. So many summer plans were cancelled. Birthday parties, reunions, getaways, malling, are now things of the past. Stressed, anxiety, depression, worries became our norm. In the past few months, madaming nabagong lifestyle. Except for our health workers and frontliners, many of us were forced to stay and work from home.

Different people managed to take advantage of the quarantine by experimenting and spending more time in the kitchen, selling treats online, fixing unfinished repairs in the house, discovering new hobbies and interests and so on.

According to WHO and CDC studies, Covid-19 is a type of virus that can be transmitted between people through respiratory droplets. You can be infected if may direct contact ka with an infected person. Yes, ganon kabilis. The problem with Covid-19, it can be asymptomatic. Meaning, you're a carrier but you don't (show) have the symptoms. Covid-19 affects people differently. Some are asymptomatic, mild to moderate illness and may severe din depending if you have pre-existing health conditions. Symptoms vary, too. Only seek medical attention if you have severe symptoms like difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, loss of speech or movement. Unless you’re suffering from these symptoms, better stay home.

This pandemic made us change in a lot of ways. Personally, sa family ko, though we take cleanliness seriously, this pandemic made us more conscious in taking care of our health and wellness. It made us more aware not to touch our face, always wash our hands, be more conscious with our hygiene. Since covid-19 can spread throughis a droplet, aside from practicing social distancing, wearing our face mask, we need to wash our hands thoroughly and frequently.

Bilang tribute (taga bili sa grocery or supermarket, lumalabas to buy essentials), sobrang conscious ako not to bring the virus at home. Nakakaparanoid din kasi talaga lumabas pero minsan hindi talaga maiwasan. What I do before ako lumabas and alam kong may iuuwi akong grocery items, magreready na ako ng disinfectant solution using water and bleach. Ready na din ang towel ko, warm water and changing clothes. Pagdating ko sa house I disinfect everything and naliligo na din after. I always make sure not to go near my family or maghawak hawak sa loob ng bahay. Hugas agad ng kamay and I do it for 20 seconds or more. I also segregate my going out clothes sa isang basin with water and disinfectant solution. Soak lang sya then hang to dry.

Thank God that during this time of quarantine, never kami nawalan ng tubig. Water is very important these days. Mas na-appreciate ko ang blessing ng tubig sa gripo naming dahil sa pandemic na ito. Hindi talaga tayo mabubuhay ng walang malinis at accessible na tubig. Nasa labas ka man, sa mall, sa hospital, water is an essential need. Partner natin ito in making sure that we’re properly hydrated, that we maintain cleanliness, in making sure that we can wash our hands anytime, anywhere. Kahit na dumaan ang summer or dry season, we still had an ample supply of water. But of course, since most of us are staying home, and all of us are using water, kailangan pa din natin magtipid and maging wais sa pag gamit ng tubig. We need clean water to fight off the virus.

So, here are some of the tips on how we can conserve our water:

• Make sure nakasarado ng mahigpit ang mga gripo kapag hindi ginagamit. Check your pipes if ito ba ay may leak.H
• Huwag gumamit ng kamay kapag magtoothbrush, use a glass, instead.N
• Nowt we need more water in washing our hands, make sure nakasarado ang gripo ng maayos habang nagsasabon para walang nasasayang na tubig.
• Put unused basin or palanggana habang naliligo. Maaring magamit pa ang naipong tubig sa pag flush ng toilet
• Magdilig ng halaman sa umaga o gabi. Huwag magdilig during day time or kaarawan para hindi mabilis matuyuan ng tubig. Diligan din ito malapit sa ugat.
• After maglaba ng mga damit, pwedeng gamitin ang pinagsabunan o pinagbanlawan para panglinis ng banyo.
• Iwasan maglaba araw-araw. Mas makakatipid kapag sabay sabay syang nilabhan.
• Ipunin ang tubig na pinanghugas sa furitsfruits, vegetables at bigas, pwede din itong pandilig ng halaman.
• Kapag naglilinis ng sasakyan mas mainam gumamit ng tabo at timba sa halip na hose.
• Masebong kalderon at plato? What I usually do, nag iinit ako ng konting tubig at binababaran ko sya ng mainit. Mas mabilis magtanggal ng sebo at mapapadali ang paghuhugas.

Let’s do our part in conserving water. Maging responsible tayo sa pag gamit nito.

Wishing and praying na matapos na itong pandemic. But in the meantime, let’s stay strong, healthy and safe.