Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 4 Lockdown
South Africa: 1,280 confirmed positive for CoVid; 2 deaths; 31 recovered.
So, so so impressed with the US Embassy in South Africa! Twice daily they send reassuring email updates telling us they are working on repatriating. I sent a private email in return asking if we might be able to obtain either a letter from the Embassy or permission from the police to return to Port Alfred.
The fired-back response was polite by firm:
“Thank you for your message. We urge you to abide by the South African government's travel restrictions and remain where you are, which is much closer to Cape Town International Airport.”—American Citizen Services, U.S. Mission to South Africa
USA: CoVid-19 number has doubled in 3 days; at least 136,880 infected; 2,414 have died—965 of those in New York. A 1000-bed Navy ship, ‘The Comfort’ will serve as a hospital for NY’s non-CoVid-19 patients.
Italy: 97,689 cases (3906 severe); 10, 779 dead; 13,030 recovered.
China: Who knows? Officials aren’t reporting asymptomatic positive results.
Circuit Training includes Laundry Limbo
Meanwhile back home, the Westhampton Neighborhood Facebook group has blown up with reports of the hoards swarming in from NYC—spreading virus and panic…
Meanwhile, I’ve created a circuit trail in the sunny, green breezy backyard which includes neck stretches beneath the clotheslines—especially challenging on laundry day.
Meanwhile creatives are cranking out new CoVid-19 diddies. Today’s hit: “We’re All Home Bound” by Claire & Mel
Meanwhile, Curtis & I, down to 2 cans of tuna and a grapefruit walked to the mall for a few days of supplies. Mall security & store staff managed the queues (with help of meter-spaced X and bottles of sanitizer at the ready.)
Who decided hair & leg containment, plucking or decorating was non-essential?
Inside and outside shoppers spoke only when needed in tight-lipped whispers and turned backs to each other. As only “essential goods” are allowed to be sold, the drugstore, CLICKS, had barricaded the hair decoration/hosiery/sundries aisle.
Do not even glance at those clothes…
Woolworth, likewise, has cordoned off a path through all the enticing clothing, home-goods, etc. etc. to the grocery section. No sneak shopping allowed in the time of CoVid.
I may not like, but I totally get why the government decided to ban liquor sales during Lockdown, but I do wonder about its decision to ban cigarette sales. Locked down, shut in with kids, wife, no money, no work…and no smokes??? Even to my non-smoker sensibilities seems foolish.
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Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 2 Lockdown
Saturday, March 28th: Day 2 of Lockdown
The sun is shining, birds chirp, and the small garden outside our window awaits. Last night, after a long day and night spent sitting—mostly reading through Corona Virus news and updating family and friends. And of course clicking on posts marveling at the quick-witted jokes and parodies this pandemic is inspiring.
By nightfall, my rump was so sore, I felt as though I’d been paddled (not in a good way.) I woke committed to changing that. I mentally scheduled exercise breaks, which include a daily socially-responsible walk. Curtis and I made a plan to only buy enough food for each day so we would have an excuse to walk to the shops.
During the Lockdown movement outside the home is restricted to shopping for food, pharmacy, doctor visits and Government aide offices.
“Gloria” our hostess at Manderley Lodge
This morning, Gloria greeted me then followed with “This is the third day, you must wear a mask when you go to the shops.” I started to respond, “we don’t have masks,” then stopped. It dawned on me what she meant by “3rd day.” This was the 3rd day after we flew here from Port Elizabeth. The third day—one of the contagious days—if we had contracted the virus during our time at the airport, in the airplane, or the taxi to her guest house….the 3rd day since we arrived at her door. Had she taken us in, fed us breakfast and sorted us out since Wednesday night beneath a threat that we might be carrying the virus?
I looked at Gloria with renewed gratitude. It dawned on my then why the travel agent had had such a difficult time finding us a place to stay. Were we carrying CoVid-19?
A short-while later, Gloria passed me her phone by laying on the table and calling to me. “You should read this,” she said.
“Do not leave home for bread/rations/or for anything, unless it is of DIRE NECESSITY because THE WORST PHASE BEGINS, the Incubation Period gets Over and may Positives will start to come out...From March 23 to 7th April we must take care of ourselves. The Peak of the Virus is two weeks, normally in these two weeks all infected will appear then there are two weeks of calm and then two weeks it will decrease . . .TILL 7th of APRIL do not receive visits from anyone, not even from the same family. This is all for the good of all.”
The time difference between South Africa and the US is at least 6 hours, so I had until about 1:00 pm, when the digital NYT arrived in my inbox to feel a tad claustrophobic and sorry for myself that we were confined to the yard, that we hadn’t stayed with Shona & Charles—that I had only 1/2 a bottle of wine.
Then I read this article: “We Take the Dead from Morning to Night" by FABIO BUCCIARELLI and JASON HOROWITZ.
So what if we spend the next week eating sandwiches and drinking water? We will stay in for as long as we could be contagious. WE WILL NOT PUT ANYONE ELSE AT RISK! We may have sore rumps, but they will heal.