If ever there was a Rorschart Test for the global population, the COVID 19 virus would be it. As the pandemic spreads globally, it reminds us all of man’s mortality and forces us to choose between the “glass half full” or “glass half empty”.
As of this writing, what was initially perceived as a “Chinese problem”, then morphed into an “Asia problem”, now having meta-stasized into a global reality, where numbers reported about fatalities may be reasonably correct, but the number of “test positives” is obviously wrong. It is obviously wrong because statistics only show those tested, and since the world is experiencing a shortage of test kits, obviously the numbers of positives is wrong. As of now, the common wisdom is that the mortality rate is somewhere around 3.5%, but… who knows.
Just as the United States has had a dramatically incoherent and incompetent response, with a two track response of health professionals wanting to spread a fact-based message, while the White House has been intent on projecting a “nothing to see here” message. If ever there was a moment for national leadership from the top, this would be it and the current President has failed miserably, and knowingly so, as he has put a premium on protecting (with poor results) the value of the financial markets, and as was put on dramatic display when the no-filter President admitted that he didn’t want the 3000 or so passengers in a cruise ship off the coast of San Francisco released from the ship into a US Navy facility for quarantine because it would make “his numbers” look bad. Talk about misplaced focus!
OK, so… Corona virus is here and the range of perspectives goes from the CEO of Tesla who says “the global reaction of panic is dumb”, to the President of Italy putting his entire country under quarantine.
Once upon a time, say 3 weeks ago, it might have been possible for Americans to think that since they were not traveling to Asia, surely they would be safe. Of course, that’s now understood to be entirely mistaken as the virus has and will continue to spread exponentially, with each infected person transmitting the virus to 2 or 4 people. Do the math and you have a pandemic in no time.
So how does this now affect our personal nomadic reality?
In Viet Nam, the current (March 8) count of confirmed infection is 31, the number of those who have recovered is 16, the number of deaths is 0, and number of those quarantined is 101.
Schools have been closed across the country for about 6 weeks. And the specificity of media reporting has been nothing short of exemplary. To wit, one article yesterday explained that a new case of infection was detected, and the person had taken a specific flight, had seated in a seat that was identified, where the person lived and therefore the neighborhood was quarantined. That is actionable data. Compare this to the reporting that one is seeing out of the U.S. No further comment.
In terms of the broader impact around us, it is evident that the number of global visitors to Hoi An has gone down. The town of Hoi An has returned to what we knew years ago, without the throngs of mostly Chinese and Korean visitors. Flights from Korea have stopped, as have most flights form China, Hong Kong and Macau.
But if Hanoi has taken stronger measures and is reported to be more impacted, we observe that life here is pretty much “business as usual”.
The population of Hoi An always wears masks, so now the colorful masks have been replaced by surgical masks, no big deal. There is no run on food, hand sanitisers as reported in the U.S..
Our approach to “social distancing”? Go to the beach!
The impact on us is several fold. For Peta:
- The International school where she works is closed to students and the teachers have started to teach “on line” with students sitting in front of their computer while the teachers tries to maintain continuity…
- Peta started to see her students at home where she has set up a space for consulting and play therapy visits.
In terms of our friends, Green Global Trek readers and virtual friends who were due to travel to Asia, and visit us in Hoi An, opted to cancel the trip entirely due to concern about airport closing and flight cancellation. We were looking forward to meeting them, but alas Corona Virus derailed that get together, for now.
Another Green Global Trek reader who lives in Hanoi decided to come down to Hoi An for a couple of weeks as schools were closed and… why not spend the time at the beach rather than in pollution-heavy Hanoi? We were delighted to meet her and her kids.
And perhaps most dramatically, our very good friends Sharon and Aaron who have been trying to visit Iran for years now, finally got it all lined up. Days to go before they were “wheels up”. And then Corona hit and all European borders to Iran got closed. They had to cancel this long awaited trip. Luckily too, as Iran has become the third biggest non-Chinese cluster after Korea and Italy. Had they gone, they would likely not have been able to get back home to the U.S.
For me, the situation is a bit more challenging. I have trips scheduled to the Philippines, where a number of developments require physical presence. The media is repeating three basic themes: 1) wash your hands, 2) practice “social distancing” and 3) avoid airports. Hmmm….
We discuss the “avoid airports” topic for a bit, but… work reality means trading a for sure impact versus a possible risk. Glass half full vs glass half empty. My Rorschart reading: I decide to go through with the trip.
Some of my observations:
- Airports: the safest place to be? It may seem counter-intuitive of course. But just from first hand experience, I’d say that airports feel like perhaps there safest place to be. The airports I went through were absolute ghost towns.
2. Philippines: As of today, the total number of confirmed cases are 10, number of deaths 1. Schools are shut down as well. Travel from China and Korea has been shut down. Amongst people I meet with, the discussion of the virus leads to chuckle and emoji-like shoulder raised. The deeply religious (catholic) community invariably responds “it’s all up to God now”. No masks, little social distancing. As I tried the elbow bump approach, my friends and colleagues looked at me in disbelief…
Planes were half full and I was particularly aware each time someone coughed, which of course coughing occurs regularly, a normal thing, except that now, a mere cough has a more lethal inference.
I had a BRUTAL week in the Philippines. Because of the heat and the amount I needed to accomplish, meeting with government officials, academia, business partners, farmers, indigenous populations… my colleagues wanted to start early every day. My alarm was set at 5:45 3 days in a row. Don’t know about you, but anything that starts before a 7 in front, is just not my friend. And of course, the email flow doesn’t stop, so I found myself working on emails till 11pm on average. That plus hours of driving in the Mindanao country-side on bumpy roads made for an exhausting trip.
I returned to Hoi An two nights ago, after 29 hours of travel through Manila and Saigon. We had a nice relaxing beach week end to recharge. Monday morning, the day before we are due to leave for Sri Lanka, Peta says “you look flushed, let me take your temperature”.
The temperature reading is not great. I have a temperature of 99.9, nothing catastrophic, but something’s up. Take the temperature again a few hours later. Uh oh… it’s rising. I am now over 100. Have I caught the Corona Virus?
Our bags are packed, and yet how can we fly if I have caught a fever, because airports now have body scans to check temperature and if I do have Corona, obviously, I don’t want to spread it. We decide to sleep in different beds. No more kissing, just elbow bumps, until we see where this goes.
I tell Peta that per my non-scientist understanding of a pandemic, it is reasonable to predict that a large chunk of the global population will get this, maybe 40%? SO… it might be only a matter of when, not if. And since there is today a calculated 3.5% mortality rate, and these statistics are flawed by the fact that the population that is tested is paced by the availability of test kits, then by definition the mortality rate is less than 3.5%. Hence my conclusion: “pas de panique!”… (let’s not panic). We conclude we will make a last minute decision depending on my temperature reading when we wake up.
The “half glass full” population reminds us that if the total body count is 4000 or so from Corona for the first two months of the year, the common flu has already affected over 19 million Americans, with 180,000 hospitalized in 2020 so far, and 10,000 deaths. So… keeping things into perspective seems like a reasonable approach.
And while we are taking a relativist approach, the latest statistics for gun related deaths, so far in 2020 in the U.S. , is over 7000. And… there is an easy remedy, gun control, and absolutely no panic re that lethal reality.
Still, we must face the possibility that I may have contracted Corona, so we start talking about our options and new Corona considerations:
- Where would we rather be sick? If either one of us does get Corona, would we rather be in Vietnam or Sri Lanka? Vietnam, for sure. That’s settled. So going to Sri Lanka is counter-intuitive (and a moot point anyway if I still have a fever).
- What if we can’t get back into Vietnam because flights from Sri Lanka get blocked? As of last night, Vietnam has closed borders with any country that has had more than 500 cases – so Iran, China/Hong Kong, Italy and Korea are in the no entry bucket. Could the same thing happen with Sri Lanka? Yes, but… the odds of Sri Lanka having test kits to yield 500 cases is very low. But we will fly through Kuala Lumpur, so what are the odds of Malaysia being on the over 500 cases list? So far, Malaysia reports 117 cases. We are still ok.
- What is our fall back strategy? If we determine too high a risk for our return to Vietnam, which has draconian measures for their quarantine (i.e. being put in vietnamese military bases), we’ll change gear and go to Bali, which is we know to be our “get healthy” place.
By the time I wake up his morning, the day we are to fly to Sri Lanka… my temperature is back to normal! Whew. This was more about exhaustion than Corona. So the trip is a go. I get to kiss my girl friend again, for now.
The current tally in Sri Lanka is Number of cases: 1, number of deaths: 0.
On the way to the airport, I want to stop and get a much deserved cappuccino. Yesterday was the first day in I don’t know how many years that I did not have a cup of coffee as I pretty much slept the whole day.
Alas… Corona has manifested itself and… my favorite coffee shop is closed.
The impact of COVID19 concretized – in this case, and only this case, cup of cappuccino half empty!
Publishing this from “ghost town”, aka Da Nang airport, with perhaps 5% of the normal traffic.
We’re still thinking about travel, including Vietnam in June. I don’t think this is the end of the world.
Nope, definitely not the end of the world… but it is a new reality in global travel. For instance, just as travellers from Italy, Korea and Iran are prohibited from flying to many destinations, it’s not entirely unrealistic that US travellers, for instance, will likewise be prevented as numbers of reported “positives” start to increase.
Tourism has not stopped to Viet Nam; numbers are just down. But it would be erroneous to think that the Corona situation is static. It is not. As the world revs up to more testing, it is entirely obvious that the number of cases will correspondingly increase.
Safe travels,
Ben
I can imagine how odd it’d be to see an empty airport during the day. The sign on the coffee shop is delightfully worded, but what a bummer that there’s no coffee. Travel is difficult when things are running smoothly but now it seems almost surreal. Take care and enjoy what you can, eh? Life goes on regardless of this weird virus.
Plenty of coffee shops that are still open in Hoi An, however some of the ones that are frequented by foreigners are starting to close. Vietnamese love their coffee and if there was a decision to shut down coffeeshops, that would be ground for a revolution. There is a cafe on every corner.
Yes, life goes on. It always does. As we sit here in Kuala Lumpur airport, it is interesting to see for the first time non Asians wearing face masks. We’ll see if this is a temporary blip or if mask wearing becomes a permanent feature that is used for germs and pollution.
Oh what a time this is. I am afraid it will have a long effect on the travel industry. Glad to hear that Ben’s temperature normalized. Perhaps a reaction to lack of coffee.
We are booked for Hawaii in 10 days. Currently still planning to go.
Yes, but for sure not only the travel industry. Many economies are already being impacted and it will hit more as time goes on. Several other industries immediately come to mind. The restaurant industry will be hit, as people will start avoiding places where there are groups of people. Trade shows, conferences… Two of our sons have potential to be heavily hit due to being in the restaurant industry and event planning business.
Hawaii seems like the perfect location to get away to right now. Of course this is a fast moving train and things can change on a dime.
Ben
Glad you are ok, Ben! Re politicians, the clown in charge of the U.K. govt has not exactly covered himself in glory either. And panic buying is wild in the country that lives to say Keep Calm and Carry On.
That’s funny Anabel. I guess having a country motto such as “keep calm” gets tested every so often. People do tend to panic in the first world. Whereas in our opinion from living in Viet Nam and Nicaragua and Sri Lanka, life is hard for many, all the time, so this is just hard of another flavor.
Ben
No more hand sanitizer in Toronto either, and slowly the numbers are adding up.. Stay safe both of you, Safe travels!
Christie
We read that face masks are in short supply as well. Interestingly enough when we first lived in Viet Nam we toyed with the idea with starting a face mask business ~ we knew at the time that the colorful face masks used all the time in Hoi An, would need an upgrade in design to include a filter, but that they would be come a necessity in much of the world. We took quite a bit of teasing from family members on this business. Unfortunately we were too busy with other things at the time to give it the effort and attention necessary to really get it going. Oh well..
Ben
First, I’m glad that the two of you still are healthy, exhausted though you may have been. Travel is getting complicated; I have friends who canceled a trip not because they feared contagion at the airports or on the plane, but because of those very real concerns that they couldn’t get backhome.
Between those convinced Armageddon has arrived, and those who prefer to deny need for any precaution, it’s a strange time. I’m certainly happy that my work keeps me out on the docks, in sweet isolation. Safe travels to you!
Yes, I think for us the main challenge with regards to travel are the cancellations and the very real risk of being stuck somewhere. Just as Italians and Iranians and South Koreans and Chinese can no longer travel freely around the world, it might not be long before the same applies to the U.S. It’s very much a wait and see prospect.
Good characterisation of the range of responses from Armageddon has arrived, to “nothing to see here”. I must say that while we are both on the “half full” glass part of the equation, the Armageddon picture seems to becoming in closer focus every year with climate change, droughts, floods, fires, volcanoes, earth quakes, plastics in the ocean, Arctic melting, locust invasions, reappearance of maleria, dengue out of control…….
Ben
So glad your temperature is down and hope it stays “normal” Ben.
The response from our U.S. government has been appalling but . . . it has kept the numbers down (or I should say suppressed). Consequently, not knowing statistics, I have decided to hunker down because I am of a “certain age” and have several underlying conditions that put me in high risk. The only positive I see coming out of this is a possible recession which would help put an honest and just government in place since all the current administration seems concerned about is economics.
Have a safe trip and sleep in!
Judith, maybe I am misunderstanding your comment with regard to the U.S. government “kept the numbers down. Or suppressed”, I respectfully disagree The U.S. government has done absolutely nothing to keep the numbers down. The only reason there is an APPEARANCE of numbers being down is that there has not been an adequate supply of tests. Compare the small country of Italy that has already performed over 200,000 tests and the much larger U.S. population that has had a paltry 2,000 tests. As the CDC informs us that a million test kits or so will be available starting next week, it is positively certain that the numbers of reported cases will jump through the roof.
Yes agree that a recession may play to the Democrats advantage but I fear the scope of the economic meltdown could be much larger than currently prognosticated. So even if as you suggest, a Democrat might take over, this would be an exact replay of what happened to Obama when he took over at the time of a total collapse in the financial system and lets remember that Clinton too had the exact same phenomenon where he had to spend a large part of his presidency restoring the economic fabric of the U.S. after failed trickle down economic theory of his Republican predecessor. Noticing a trend here…..
Ben
Oy oy oyski, as I’ve been saying lately. It has been a wild few weeks. I’m glad to hear your perspective. We’re all learning a lot. I’m trying to learn not to touch my eyes nose and mouth unless I’ve just washed my hands, and even that is beyond me. Starting to stock the freezer and pantry for when we don’t want to or can’t go out. I’m with you on the elbow bumps. They are a thing here.
Love your hair.
Oy oy oyski indeed. We just arrived in Sri Lanka and went from the deserted airport in Denang in Viet Nam to a trickle of people at one of the busiest airports in the world in Kuala Lumpur to Sri Lanka where the airport was buzzing at midnight. NO corona here.. yet!
Peta used sanitizer pretty stridently which was novel for us as we have never even bought hand sanitizer before! It is interesting how we become aware of the small things such as touching our faces and people coughing nearby causing great alarm to everyone around.
I love her hair too! I asked her to cut it again rather than be on the growing it out track. For now…
Ben
I live in a small rural town about 35 miles from Nashville, TN. We have our first person being tested today. So, they closed schools. Your complicated situation would be daunting at my age. I’m past the age of delusion of immortality!
Eileen stay safe and hopefully your community being small and rural, will weather this storm easily. There is some good news emerging out of China where there are seeing the rate of growth of cases slowing down significantly. Korea as well. This means that there is a peak to the crisis and we have to hope we make it to the other side.
Ben
Hi, Ben – I’m glad that you are okay and that your fever has passed. I like your wise, rational thinking here. Richard and I lived in Beijing during SARS so your pictures of empty airports brought back memories. Wishing you and Peta a safe journey. Please continue to keep us posted.
Hi Donna,
Interestingly enough when we arrived at the airport in Sri Lanka it was almost as busy as usual. The fact that Sri Lanka has had but one case of CV and that person has recovered makes SL not a bad place to visit right now.
The memory of SARS is a big one in Viet Nam as anywhere else in Asia and that explains why the governments have been quick to take preventative measures like immediately closing the schools.
Ben
Glad Ben’s temperature went back to normal. The Corona thing is quite alarming – because as you say, of the economic effect it will have. Think of all those Italians being unable to work. Think of all the people in the gig economy who cannot afford to stop working. This is our last day in Hanoi. Tomorrow we fly back to Holland. A little bit concerned about travelling but your photos of empty airports have strangely reassured me! I am not worried about catching it, but more concerned about spreading it. We travel via Paris and Biarittz next week to get to a sit in the Pyrenees. Once there, I’ll feel better. I guess all we can do is keep checking, keep calm and carry on. Stay safe on your travels.
Ah yes, we were pretty pleased with that normal temperature read in the morning, but a few hours before departures. The photos I took on my way to the Philippines were also reassuring to Peta, as it helped to at least alleviate the fear of being amongst huge crowds of people that potentially might be ill. Of course there remains the issue of being in close quarters with people on the plane, but our flight from Danang to Malaysia was about a third full, so we had plenty space around us.
Safe travels and enjoy your house sit in the Pyrenees. Sounds like a good place to be right now.
Ben
Thanks for sharing your experience! I am so glad you no longer have a fever and can kiss your beautiful girlfriend. I always enjoy your glass half full perspective 🥰
Ah you know me… I am and eternally positive and optimistic kinda guy. ( Sagittarius!)
Ben
Great post on perspective – something that seems to be sadly ignored right now. I have so many conflicting emotions, but generally I’m just glad that I’m home, healthy (for now), with no plans to travel anywhere anytime soon.
I’m glad to hear that the elevated temperature turned out to be a false alarm, and I hope it stays that way!!
Joanne, perspective is often the key factor between stress, acceptance and dealing with shit that happens. Travelling has been particularly easy with no lines at customs, or to check in. Quite a silver lining to this whole CV.
Initially I thought that travelling (or rather choosing not to travel) was a key ingredient of how best to navigate the CV, but as data increasingly points to community spread amongst those that have not travelled recently it seems that it is no longer a meaningful variable. Perhaps staying away from crowds and staying healthy and washing hands a lot is the best course forward.
Ben
Glad to hear Ben’s temperature was not the dreaded CV. We are currently in Tam Coc, Ninh Binh Province and it is like a ghost town here, with restaurants closed, the Tam Coc boat trip closed etc. Our daughter who was due to travel to Vietnam next week can no longer get a Visa. Since EU and UK visitors can’t get Visas for Vietnam at the moment. We are carrying on with our plans to visit Hanoi and Halong Bay, but with a little trepidation. Great post and safe travels.
Wow did not know that EU and UK visitors can’t get visas for Viet Nam at the moment. Sorry to hear that your daughter won’t be able to join you! We loved Ninh Binh, and chose that as an alternative to Halong Bay. Come to think of it, now would probably be a GREAT time to go to Halong Bay as it is usually too crowded ~ and the reason we have never been.
Enjoy, stay safe ~ so fun meeting in Hoi An and street food hopping together.
Ben
Great, thought provoking post and very glad both of you are healthy. Traveling now is like nothing we’ve ever experienced. We’re actually just leaving Sri Lanka after a wonderful 10 days. It seems almost every day we get an email from somewhere that causes us to make hotel, flight and even country adjustments. And so many sights we plan on visiting are closed. So head back home? Not yet! We’re still hoping Bhutan will reopen (although I doubt it).
Fortunately we stocked up on masks, sanitizer and wipes before we left the US and before every store in Denver was sold out. I’m also in the “high risk” category but we’re just going to be as careful as possible and hope for the best. It’s ironic that the only way for the travel insurance to kick in is to be quarantined or get sick.
So it’s off to Kerala (quite a few cases) and then Goa (very few cases). If Bhutan opens up that’s next and if not probably another week around Goa before a flight to Oman (if it’s open). And then Saudi Arabia (if it’s open), and on and on it goes.
What lives we travelers lead!
Be safe.
Steve
Steve, sounds like you have quite an itinerary coming up. And yes, nomadic life can feel like a wack-a-mole game these days. We spent six weeks in Goa this time last year and really enjoyed it. The live music scene in Arambol was remarkable. Not sure how long the season actually lasts… Years back we were in Kerala and Cochi (Kochin) was definitely a favorite for both of us! Very liveable city and certainly worth the visit.
Interesting to read that Bhutan is closed. Frankly, given the fragility of that rare case of a protected eco system, I almost hope that they choose a policy of keeping international travellers out, at least until things stabilise. That said, they really do need the tourism income, so it’s a hard position to take.
Oman is up there on the list of desirable countries still on our list of “to get to”. Keeping things in perspective, while there is a high level of nervousness about Corona Virus I think MERS has had way more fatalities At the end of 2019 MERS had recorded 858 deaths, the majority of these being in Saudi Arabia with a fatality rate of 37%. So if you are in the high risk category I’d say the reality of MERS may be worth considering as a higher priority than CV when thinking about Saudi Arabia.
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Enjoy and safe travels to you both! Glad you enjoyed Sri Lanka.
Ben
You’ll love Oman. We had a great time there renting a car and traveling around for 10 days. So far most of the Chinese airlines have refunded our flights but all others are saying that unless they cancel the flight they’re not refunding. I’m glad others seem to be having a better experience with refunds.
I’m so glad your fever went away! Like you, I figure the chances of getting virus are rather high, but unless I do I’m just going take the recommended precautions and go ahead and live my life. I don’t want to spend the next few weeks sitting at home, surrounded by my piles of hand sanitizer and toilet paper. And I know I’m not in the high-risk category, which means I’m not as afraid of getting it as someone who is very elderly or has other medical issues will be.
Ann I think it’s a difficult balancing act . On one hand yes if one is in the low risk category, cowering at home living in fear is probably not the best course of action. On the other hand, we also need to all remember that even without symptoms we may be carriers without knowing it and therefore infect those we may encounter who have more vulnerability.
Ben
Scary fever there! Glad it turned out to be a travel whammy not this virus. It’s a clever virus, you’d have to say, that can close airports and cancel futból matches. Over-reaction? Maybe, but better that than blissful ignorance, a la Trump. A Democrat Hoax, he called it! Thanks for raising awareness about whatever degree of world pandemic this turns out to be. I just hope they don’t ban kissing.
Johnny, I’m not sure I’d call this administration’s response “blissful ignorance” ~ I would say it is more deliberate lying to keep the numbers down and try to prop up the stock market. Of course the virus doesn’t read twitter and will do what it will do. It is worth noting that both Biden and Bernie have made the responsible decision to hold off on campaign events and that in the Republican side they are choosing to stay the course at the risk of spreading the virus.
Enforcing a no kissing ban would be novel and of course we can just see the reality of Iran today with no PDA but a whole lot of infection.
Stay safe.
Ben
No one is panicking in Spain either. Still lots of toilet paper on the shelves. Although some visitors have canceled. Stay safe you two.
Darlene I think Americans tend to panic more than Europeans… and with both Italy and Germany in infection free fall it would be surprising if the virus didn’t spread robustly in all European countries given the amount of Euro travel.
Suerte
Ben
Wow, another “exciting” tale. Just when I recently wished you two an “uneventful” or at least “less eventful” 2020 after last year’s debacles! I hope you have reached Sri Lanka safe and sound by now and that – once you return to Viet Nam – quieter times prevail.
I agree with you, Ben, that it would be much safer in a half empty airport than in a packed grocery store these days! Travel made easy and more special again is something I miss from the “olden days”. Maybe, because of this virus, the “olden days” will prevail. 🙂 I’m so sorry you had to do without coffee for two days in a row!
Hi Liesbet,
We are in Sri Lanka and interestingly enough because there are no reported cases yet the airport here was pretty busy at midnight when we landed. Generally the attitude of people in the streets here is way more lax than in Viet Nam where people wear face masks but thats because face masks are not a part of
the culture here. Also, and it’s hard to distinguish fact from fiction but there is a theme going around that perhaps warmer weather is not CVS friend and it’s mighty hot here!
One silver lining is that with reduced travel comes reduced carbon emissions and therefore a temporary reprieve from the race to the climate change tipping point.
Plenty coffee to be had in Hoi An ~ after all it’s a coffee and cafe culture and all the spots for locals are still open and busy only a few foreigner joints have closed.
Ben
We have six known cases of the virus (one death) in our neighbourhood–all at a seniors’ facility. Many people are in panic mode. When Mike went to our local grocery store the other day, toilet paper was completely sold out. Craziness!
I like your question about the safety of an airport versus a Costco line. Hmm…we have no spring travel plans yet.
I’m glad your fever turned out to be exhaustion related, Ben. Take care of yourselves and sorry about your favourite coffee shop!
Sorry to read that Vancouver too has been hit. Peta’s mom lives in an assisted living facility in Chicago and inevitably it is now closed off to all visitors as the American Health care association president issued a stern warning a couple of days ago to families friends and loved ones to not visit nursing homes or Assisted Living centers as this is the most vulnerable segment of the population.
You might want to wait till end of summer for travel plans although as of now Central America is reporting the least amount of infections ~ but that means little since it’s a function of test kits availability and testing.
Ben
Great to hear you recovered quickly from whatever it was that you had. It’s hard to know what is truth and what is fiction in all the reporting, but the best information continues to be to use common sense about where you go and what you do, and just keep washing those hands. Best wishes for your trip.
If it comes out of the mouth of the U.S. president you can pretty much bet that it’s fiction and if it comes out of the mouth of medical experts it’s reasonable to assume that it’s the best current truth even though of course we all know this is a fast developing story. What is absolutely not fiction is that this is a global pandemic that is lethal, leaps borders and is just still at an early stage.
Peta
Love and share your perspective! Really enjoyed reading all of the comments, glad to see there are still so many sane people around. We are loving Tasmania, but heading to Perth next Wed. Hoping to spend a few chilled out weeks, or months, pottering around (as they say here). There are still plenty of people traveling here, European & Aussie. Lots of jokes about toilet paper. 🤣 Hoping the virus doesn’t get crazy, it’s definitely here, but everyone seems to be taking it in stride, and buy lots of TP, just cuz they heard Americans were doing that and they follow our lead🙄😱
Julie enjoy “pottering around” in Australia. Hope that the smoke from the fires has subsided somewhat?
The toilet paper panic is a uniquely American phobia it seems. Frankly I don’t get it. (Maybe that’s because after years of living in Asia where everyone uses a “bum gun”), if one has to panic I would think that food security would be a far greater concern than toilet paper security. (No food, no need for toilet paper, haha) But then again, I think hoarding is a psychological measure to try to maintain some sense of control.
Also, having spent time in countries where there are chronic supply chain deficiencies, Cuba comes to mind, my personal sense is that when a true crisis hits, people manage.
I wonder how long Australia will keep its borders open to Europe given the high numbers there of outbreaks.
Ben
Peta
I just read that our Prime Minister is in self-isolation because his wife is being tested for COVID19. He will be meeting people electronically as Canada works out the best way to “flatten the curve” in our country. I am happy to have him leading by example by trying to slow down the potential spread and to protect less healthy Canadians.
I’m also happy to read that your temperature was not indicative of this viral infection, Ben.
You guys continue to stay safe and healthy!
Deb
Deb, every time I read about your prime minister I have Trudeau envy. Just compare that response to the U.S. presidential one which is “I don’t feel sick so I am going to keep shaking hands at all my political rallies.” He hasn’t even been tested even though he was in company with 2 people now who have tested positive. Imagine his attitude will shift significantly once people in the white house or his family are impacted.
Ben
Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective. So happy that the high temp turned out to be a false alarm. I find myself ricocheting between glass half full (bad virus but it probably won’t directly impact us if we are careful) and half empty (as more and more events, schools, businesses, etc. get cancelled or shut down). I don’t listen to crazy-talk media, preferring to get my information from public broadcasting and scientists, but even those reports have turned pretty alarming. Stay healthy you two!
Janis it’s interesting that Viet Nam was VERY quick to close schools almost before any other country, all as a preventative measure and it sure seems so far to have paid off. Here in Sri Lanka they just had their 2nd case yesterday of a tour guide who took a group of Italians all over the country a few weeks ago. Sooo, the numbers will no doubt start going up and hopefully we can get out before Viet Nam closes its borders.
Definitely alarming news from the doctor in charge of the U.S. congress who predicted yesterday, a range of between 70 and 100 million U.S. infected. If that prediction turns out to be true, even the lower end of 70 million at 1% fatality, translates into 700,000 people.Not such fake news anymore.
Ben
Two weeks ago we cancelled a 30-day trip to Portugal, France and Spain. We were not as concerned with getting sick, as we were with getting stuck. It wasn’t an easy decision but sometimes you just have to listen to your gut and go with it. After last night’s address from the White House, we looked at each other and said, “Holy Crap!” Did we make the right call or what?! Last night’s address to the nation was the very definition of closing the barn doors after the horse got out. And, of course if you wait 24 hours after he speaks, then the barrage of “clarifications” come out on Twitter. (insert eye roll here)
There is a growing level of panic currently spreading across the US, some warranted, some not so much, but I can’t help but think people are unnerved because of the incompetence of the current administration and the constant chaos. Last night’s address only served to exasperate the situation. Personally, I suspect the number of cases in the US is much higher than being reported because there are no tests. The president is flat out lying. Thankfully, there are credible scientists that are telling the truth.
Safe healthy and continued safe travels. I always enjoy reading your perspective from that side of the world.
Good call indeed Patti. Although being forced to have pasteis de nata wouldn’t be such a terrible thing…. I agree with everything you said about this presidents utter incompetence and outright deceit. But of course this time this is not just about his hyperbole and twitter meanderings, it is about national leadership at a time where every day wasted will result in countless deaths. That is simply a fact.
Yes, no doubt the numbers coming out of the U.S. are meaningless because the level of testing has been pathetically low.
Ben
We have been exhausted by this administration for 3.5 years and these past few days have seemed like another year by themselves. The incompetence, chaos, and lying is just too much. November can’t come soon enough.
Stay well.
That is the plan. Chaos management is not a collateral damage, it is his management style. By creating so many crises every day, he counts on the electorate becoming exhausted and therefore numb to the next round of crazy.
I hate to break the bubble here… but, I wouldn’t count November as a shoe in, by any stretch. I hope I am wrong of course but this is what I see:
The last democratic president (Obama) was robbed of his constitutional right to nominate a Supreme Court Justice, the legitimate impeachment procedure by the house was squashed by the Republican controlled senate but most shockingly by the senior supreme court judge Roberts, who was constitutionally required to manage the senate trial which he clearly did not since no witnesses were called. A fundamental tenet of any court proceeding; before that, Hillary’s campaign which yielded a popular majority vote is now widely understood to have been corrupted by Russian cyber influence but the same administration and senate have shown no appetite to curb future Russian interference.
And before that, Al Gore’s popular vote win was derailed by a Republican controlled “hanging chad” process that was ultimately capped by the Republican controlled Supreme Court decision to award the election to Bush.
So call me paranoid, but the odds of voting machines with no paper trail, plus Russian interference plus bias Supreme Court plus no longer effective senate.. all this to me spells doom.
Ben
I completely agree with your assessment of the upcoming election Ben because the corruption, manipulation, cheating, lying, etc., will be off the charts. The only thing that gives me a glimmer of hope is that voters are turning out in big numbers for the primaries.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/485994-democratic-turnout-surges-on-super-tuesday
But also, if McConnell is not defeated than nothing will change. In many ways he is more dangerous than the idiot.
Everything you said is intelligent, insightful, and well thought out. I try to not be swept up in alarmist thinking—all too often, the press is guilty of inciting panic. But this is real, and it’s frightening. And we have a self-centered idiot at the helm of our country who is putting all of us at risk in countless ways.
We’re not stockpiling toilet paper, but I have laid in a supply of ingredients for homemade hand sanitizer, and we’re washing our hands even more than usual, and we’re limiting our exposure to crowds. I’m so glad your fever didn’t turn out to be serious. You two take good care.
Thanks Laurel. If ever there was a case to be made for competent national leadership, this would be it and to no surprise, this president has failed dramatically. Try as he may to recast the issue as a hoax by democrats and then recently to recast it as a demonstration of Obama’s failures, only the most obtuse Trumpite will be misled by the deceit. Also this sudden surge in health care requirements is demonstrating all too clearly the shortcomings of the U.S. system, the inability to surge in a time of need and the overall inadequacy of the U.S. health care system. This of course is nothing new to Democratic policy makers and while there is no joy in seeing this pandemic roll through the U.S., it does serve to illustrate what the Democratic party has been voicing for over two decades now.
Ben
What an odyssey. I know that you are in Sri Lanka now with Viet Nam no longer offering visa on arrival. Wondering if this means you? Will you head to Bali?!?
We are safely in Mexico. The plan is to head back to the States in mid-April but if the craziness continues, we will sail in the Sea of Cortez until it passes.
Hugs to you both.
Yes we just heard the news and are scrambling to get our Sri Lankan house emptied. Furniture all sold, paintings rolled up to be shipped, albums sorted etc etc. We had hoped to do this over 10-14 days so that it might be a leisurely process. Instead we did it in four days.
No going back to Viet Nam for us now. Yup. It has happened again!! We sure thought that after 2019’s Sri Lankan bombing we could look forward to a calmer 202O. Hmmmm, alas not to be.
Bali was our back up plan but we are considering another option for a variety of reasons.
Stay tuned…
xo
What about trying to come back to Mommy for a little TLC?…..I ,for one , would feel better about you being closer at this time…I know, I know….You have to work and go to the Philippines…
I could try to bribe you with my great cafe…hum..Would it work?
Anyhow this whole situation is scary…Please be as safe as possible…I will continue to read your blog….
Well you do make an appealing case, TLC + French Press, but alas… too much “crazy” for my taste, both in terms of politics and in terms of the hysterical hoarding situation. Feels like L.A. is still very much at the beginning of the curve, so thanks no thanks, not what I had in mind… But YOU are welcome to join US where we land!
Bisous (oh sorry, no longer possible – elbow bump!)
Ben and Peta, It sounds like you’ve been put through the coronavirus wringer! Great news that you don’t have the virus. I can only imagine how challenging it is to conduct international business in the current climate, no matter where you are. Here in the States things are just now getting pretty wacky. Like so many other travelers we just had to cancel a month-long trip to Africa and Brazil. Disappointing, but necessary. I hope that you two stay safe and well. All the Best, Terri
Terri ooh cancelling a long planned trip to Africa and Brazil has to be gut wrenching.
“Pretty wacky” indeed. In stark contrast we have been impressed with how quickly and efficiently Viet Nam reacted to CV and took preventative measures which really prevented the spread. If only the U.S. had the foresight to do the same. Sadly numbers there are about to go through the roof.
Stay safe and well too
Ben
Kind of weird to finally get to this post after having read the next one! Looking back, I wish Jeff and I had zipped over to see you guys in Vietnam and back out before all this really exploded. But it was hard then to predict where and when we might get stuck somewhere, and it’s exponentially more difficult now. Hoping Mexico proves stable enough to get settled … and soon! You guys need a break!
Hindsight is 20/20. You still probably made the right call but at any rate perhaps we will get to meet up in Mexico. It is hard to know if we make the right decisions but once they are made we have no choice but to accept and move forward.
We had an incredible 9 months of living in Viet Nam and were sorry to leave sooner than expected, but c’est la vie.
Ben
Thank you for sharing. It is helpful to have a personal out of the US perspective. What is happening in the stores is embarrassing. No toilet paper or other paper products or disinfectant wipes, empty shelves and empty racks! Hope you get somewhere safe and a restful break.
What is embarrassing is two things:
1) That all other inflicted nations have been able to roll out perfectly good Corona Virus test kits and the U.S. has not and the reason for this goes far beyond the president himself. It is a fundamental flaw in the American psyche which is a sense of superiority and inability to appreciate that other nations might have better solutions. I am reading now that the CDC actually never even CONSIDERED importing foreign test kits. Overly confident that only a U.S. solution would do. Now that’s embarrassing. Remindful of an earlier time when the U.S. pooh poohed a European hypersonic airplane, the Concord which travelled from NY to London in two hours and the U.S. could simply not stomach that this was a foreign technology. This inability to appreciate that other nations have skilled engineers and scientists is a real character flaw, this time this flaw will be measured in the thousands of deaths.
Ben
Ben, I’m so glad it turned out you didn’t have Corona virus. Thanks for this inside info about how some Asian countries have been so proactive about dealing with this pandemic while our Agent Orange diddles around with his twitter account and blames Democrats for everything he doesn’t like.
Our local schools closed a week ago and today they began teaching online. All teachers are required to teach, but what it really means, is they are teaching online, hoping parents can assist. Of course, that won’t always be possible – so many parents are in the low end economic strata and have 2 or 3 jobs. I suspect that most students will be promoted to the next grade level in autumn but all classes will be learning this spring’s curriculum.
Sharon we saw firsthand how proactive Viet Nam was with preventative measures. And they worked, the numbers there are very low and where we lived, the count was 0.
Here in Mexico it has been very different. Measures are only being taken in the past week and finally people are staying home and the roads are blocked off to the coastal area where we are now living. We got here just in time. If we arrived a week later than we did, we would not have had access. It’s all in our latest post.
Thank you for the thoughtful comments.
Ben and Peta, from here in Canada, I have been watching the mounting numbers of deaths in the USA. So predictable, given the initial denial and inaction, and so tragic.
You wrote this post just over a month ago. It is mind-boggling how quickly everything has changed around the world. I can only imagine how much anxiety it created for the two of you, as you scrambled to settle somewhere else to wait out the pandemic. Stay well!
Jude
Yes, what a difference a month makes. In fact, what a difference a week makes! It seems that the pace of corona related news accelerates and our new reality evolves much faster than we are all used to. Change is inevitable, but this is Change on speed!
It was less anxiety and more resolve. We KNEW that there was a tight timeline until a global shut down, and we just had to keep plugging, as fast as possible, despite our “lives interrupted”. Never boring, and now safe in the beautiful land of Mexico.
Ben