I was SO relieved two days ago when I received the email that travel restrictions to the US are lifted. WOOT! Finally could get down to booking my connecting flight although by the time I booked it, the cheapest flight is not available anymore, so the hole in the pocket was at USD 218.60, an additional USD119 (BLEH)
When panic about the pandemic broke out, especially with the persistent raising of the pandemic alert level by WHO (not to be confused with severity of disease), at the back of my mind I was thinking 'Is there an overreaction to all this?' I quoted to anyone who would listen 36,000 people die from flu-related complications yearly in the United States. I wondered about the healing rate of the virus, rather than just the number of cases confirmed. I told myself that the virus is mild outside Mexico and experts surmised that the flu would go away seasonally as summer is impending. All in all, I was looking for a silver lining. My grandmother kept warning me about the dangers and the first case confirmed in Malaysia being a 21-year-old student who returned from the United States probably isn't going to assuage her fears. But I know the symptoms and the drug to treat it, I'd be damned if I let this stop me from seizing my last chance at participating in an exchange program.