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In the midst of the enhanced community quarantine, singer Lea Salonga had been the talk of the town for the past few days due to a post that most netizens have complained to be “insensitive.”

In a post on Instagram, Lea shared a photo with a quote that said: “To those who are complaining about the quarantine period and curfews, just remember that your grandparents were called to war; [and] you are being called to sit on the couch and watch Netflix. You can do this.”

View this post on Instagram

Hat tip: @chefgodfreylaforteza And do replace Netflix with your favorite board game, a good book, charades, a cuddle, writing in a journal, crochet, a coloring book, pencil sketching, dancing, etc. As much as I do enjoy Netflix, that isn't the only way I'm occupying my time in quarantine. To those of you asking me to check my privilege, I hear you. I didn't mean Netflix in a literal sense because I'm fully aware that not everyone has access to it. So replace it with something else you like to do. I only meant it as a figure of speech. Thanks for your time.

A post shared by Lea Salonga (@msleasalonga) on Mar 15, 2020 at 12:37am PDT

The post above was shared by American journalist and TV personality James Deakin and Mocha Uson who drew a lot of flak for what people deemed to be insensitive, especially to the majority of workers whose labor cannot do a work-from-home arrangement.

This was in response to the recent announcement made by the local government last Monday, March 16, due to the rising cases of coronavirus patients in the country.

The mandated rules imply that Filipinos, living in the Luzon area and more specifically in Metro Manila, must stay at home and practice self-quarantine to “flatten the curve.”

But this isn't the case for most workers who are living on their day-to-day wages in the city.

In recent reports, many workers have forced themselves to commute -- including frontline health workers -- and walk long distances for work.

Due to these recent events, Lea spoke up on the situation amid the stringent implementation of the Luzon-wide quarantine.

She shared on Facebook early Tuesday afternoon that her cousin, who is based in Los Angeles, has tested positive for COVID-19.

And due to pneumonia, he had to be “intubated and sedated to help him get some rest, antivirals administered.”

Thankfully, Lea's relative has now recovered despite having a little difficulty breathing.

“He's one of the most robust people I know, and yet he caught it,” she wrote.

Despite the circumstances, and the recovery of many, Lea couldn't help but suspect, “There will be a segment of our population that will fare just fine.”

“But [the] majority of our countrymen? I honestly don't know.”

She wrote, “It's easy for many of us to flippantly recommend staying at home, but how do we recommend that to a daily wage earner? To someone that can't see their families because of the lockdown? To people that are with their families, but are now unable to provide for them?

“What do we do? Point fingers? Blame the government for its delays in taking action? Blame the folks that insist on going out when they've already been told to stay at home? How do we recommend social distancing to people whose homes are inches away from each other? What then? Can anyone answer these questions?”

She admitted that the widespread pandemic not only in the country but also in the whole world has been a source of panic and anxiety to many -- including her.

“I'm trying to keep myself smiling and positive, posting things with a tinge of humor, if only to keep myself from getting sad and angry. Also trying to post things that are factual, and avoiding any unnecessary noise. This is literally keeping me up at night, and I know it's not healthy, but there it is.”

She ended the post on a good note by thanking everyone who's been proactive during the pandemic from frontliners and donors, including “funny videos and memes, music, workouts, prayers, mental health checks... whatever it takes to keep everyone's spirits up. Thank you.”

Lea concluded, “Now, whatever we gotta do to beat this thing, let's beat this thing.

“Let's keep our wits about us... our heads screwed on straight... we have to beat this thing. I look forward to the day that this virus becomes insignificant and inconsequential, but this isn't that day.”

Lea is among the few celebrities who reacted during the announcement of an “enhanced community quarantine” in Luzon island.

Other celebrities include Barbie Forteza, Bela Padilla, and Ken Chan.

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