I leave the house, in a hurry, there's a lot to do. In this job, there are always pending things, or last-minute events; “it is the pulse of the news”. Before leaving, I activate a mental alert: protect myself from the invisible enemy that can inhabit the neighbor who greets me, my colleagues at work, the PC where I write, even myself.

I walk quickly, more so these days when it is convenient to stay at home. I choose the shortest and least traveled route, avoiding the crowds. But wherever my eyes go without the stumbling blocks of this protective mask, other times by car and by rigor with these lines, on foot, I have again seen the coming and going of the inhabitants of Las Tunas, apparently carefree.

And I have seen it in crescendo and with fear, in the last days. It is denounced by the look and the walkthrough these streets that, to be honest, have not been as empty as the current context deserves; but yes, until a few days ago, with fewer people. It seems that we are beginning to trust each other and that is where the danger lies.

In the city center, mornings are usually particularly busy and there are many queues for cash machines, banks, and the telephony store, the purchase of the assortment by family, in the Western Union and to collect the purchases of TuEnvío virtual store. Thus, the heart of the city and other areas become a hotbed of passers-by, cars, motorcycles, bicycles and a hustle and bustle that at times we move to other times, times without the SARS-CoV-2. Such a landscape generates alarm, concern.

Some leave impelled by necessity or in the face of a very specific emergency; others, in fact, leave in search of I don't know what, or as a way of breaking the litany in which they seem to have been submerged by the necessary social isolation.

Many no longer keep their distance in the queues or talk endlessly while waiting to buy a product. Others go further, like a man who, in the middle of Columbus Street and in the middle of a line to get bread, was walking without a mask, ran to put it on at the sign of a uniformed man passing by on the road and, with the same speed as in the first act, took it off as soon as the authority turned its back and walked away a few steps.

Unfortunately, this is not all, inside the neighborhoods, such a relaxation of discipline often acquires more every day, dangerous, deadly edges. When you look at that picture you cannot help but think that we have sailed a lucky ship. The days are not there to be left to chance, there is too much at stake, many people risking their skin, to foresee, to heal, to save.

It happens just when the country presents a favorable scenario, we go ahead of the peak and go through a period of a plateau and towards the decrease in the number of infected people. However, watch out! This does not mean that we are free of risk. Logic dictates that if we are not strict with the measures of healthy distance and hygienic-epidemiological surveillance we could return to a critical situation and even trigger the epidemic phase.

Silent, faceless and deadly, SARS-CoV-2 has changed the face of the world with still unpredictable consequences. While health personnel, scientists, political and government authorities are facing the bug more than doing their duty, in an act of love, it is up to each citizen to live up to that admirable effort and dedication.

We already see that so much chlorine and soap, research, health protocol, investigation, use of the mask and so much “stay at home” have not been in vain. Little by little, we are adding points in this battle that is only won side by side. Do not miss your contribution.