COVID-19 is really a traitor. It sneaks up on you and steals into the night.

My uncle, my mother’s younger brother and closest sibling, died last Sunday night. He was cremated in 24 hours or at 9 pm last night, as per Department of Health protocol for all suspected coronavirus deaths.

He had on and off fever since Saturday last week and a headache that didn’t go away. They had him undergo rapid antibody test but it turned out negative so this didn’t warrant a hospital stay. But on Sunday after waking up from a nap, he complained again of a debilitating headache. He became delirious and collapsed. He didn’t make it to the hospital.

He wasn’t able to take a swab test. Since he presented some symptoms of coronavirus infection and he was high risk (70 years old), he was treated as a suspect case. His wife and my cousin and those who helped in reviving him at home had to take the swab (RT-PCR) test.

Cause of death in his certificate: community acquired pneumonia.

It was so sudden. He was snatched away like that. I confirmed to my mom on the phone at midnight. She was wailing, more than she did when I told her my father already passed (exactly 15 yrs ago this month). Maybe because she already expected my dad to go anytime soon. Maybe she was shell-shocked.

But in the case of her brother, it was so unexpected that’s why my mom was hysterical.

And just like that, a life was stolen by COVID-19. An unseen menace. It feels like you are risking your life every time you go out of the house. It’s like you are on your own as this government doesn’t care since it’s busy trying to suppress people. It seems like, it’s just a matter of time that you will be the next.

Goodbye, Uncle Benny. You are in a safer place now.