COVID-19 - Eleventh Update - They're tracking us

Our neighbourhood - so awesome.

So very Thai.

Here's what has happened since our last update:

June 10 - We enjoyed another bike ride, and we thought the park had been opened so we cycled through. It's actually still closed but we weren't apprehended. We did notice that all the fishing boats have been pulled out of the water. That makes it very official - the monsoon season has arrived. Fishing will now take place on the east side of the island.

June 11 - Our friend from Peony's opened this week, and this is the third day this week that we have ordered take-out from her. Such tasty Thai curries! And they deliver.

June 12 - A Thai friend from the north delivered our lunch today - laab moo. It's a spicy ground pork salad and ours even had chopped liver and entrails. We said "what the heck" and gave it a try and were pleasantly surprised. Our friend served it with "sticky rice" which added to the uniqueness of the meal for us.

June 15 - Thailand has entered Phase 4 of re-opening!  No more curfew. Restaurants can now serve alcohol. Bars are still closed. There is still a ban on most international travel, but there are some repatriation flights. The Thais are bringing a lot of their workers home from abroad, but they have to go directly into quarantine, and a number of expats are still leaving Thailand when they can find a flight - but not from Phuket airport. We ourselves are enjoying much more freedom. Today we went to a restaurant with friends. Yes, we wore masks, didn't hug, washed our hands often, and noticed how carefully the restaurant followed the new guidelines. The following photos are by Linda.

Bang Pae seafood restaurant view of Phang Nga Bay.

Otto, Darrel and Loretta, with Linda taking the photo.

June 16 - I posted the blog "When Terry Went Missing". The thoughtful comments on Facebook and through email have been very comforting. 

June 16 - The WHO has recognized the important work of the million-strong group of volunteers in Thailand who have helped keep the COVID situation in Thailand under control. We ourselves have experienced the helpfulness of the local volunteers. Amazing effort.

June 19 - We had a trip into Phuket Town to see a specialist at the International Hospital for some dental work for Darrel. The traffic was much quieter than normal which made the drive much more pleasant than usual. The subways that they have completed since we've been here do much to improve the traffic flow, but they were underutilized today. The scene at the hospital was very impressive - clean, quiet, COVID free (they treat COVID patients elsewhere). As always, the service was superb and the price very competitive. We understand why so many foreigners come here to be treated for a multitude of things.

It was a lovely day for a drive.

Not many people in the waiting room.
The chairs are "distanced".

First step - temperature taken and hands sanitized.

How to stand in the elevator. Unless you're a rebel.

June 20 - While we were enjoying our end-of-day moment on the roof-top last night, we heard an airplane! We haven't heard that sound for months. 

June 21 - A CBC article talks about "excess deaths" in Canada during COVID. Here's the article: click here. At least two provinces reported an unusually high number of deaths in the early weeks of the pandemic but they were not reported as COVID deaths. But were they actually COVID related? The most alarming fact coming out of this article is that most of our reporting of deaths in Canada is paper-based. A professor of epidemiology at the University of Toronto describes our data collection process as "archaic and decentralized". We are a rich country. Why can't we operate like one, especially in matters of life and death? The provinces have really dropped the ball on this one.

We saw an airplane taking off from the airport today. Such a change from "a-plane-every-six-minutes" days.

June 22 - We returned to the Dewa Bread and Butter Cafe to meet with a Thai friend. We used the new tracking system "Thai Chana" (Darrel just had to scan the QR code) to check in and out. They asked for our phone number which we happily provided so that we can be contacted if there is a COVID case near us. When we checked out, the tracking-system asked us four questions: Did the staff wear masks? (Yes, and face shields). Was there social distancing? (Yes, they have removed many tables and there are shields between each place along the bar). Was it clean? (Yes, spotless). Did they have hand sanitizer? (Yes, at the entrance. Plus they took our temperature). In the attached photo, we are not wearing masks. It is impossible to eat and drink when wearing masks. So we are careful about who we dine with. 

"Selfie" by Khun Kay.

The manager and our friend,
Khun Nitty.

The park is closed but they let me walk to the beach to get some photos.

Over the month: We're not travelling (said everyone in the world), so we reallocated a chunk of our travel budget to our household budget.  Besides our recliners and our very smart TV, we also bought a new microwave/convection oven (the last one hadn't been working right since the lightning strike) and some new headphones (the last ones were not compatible with our new TV - not smart enough I guess). Speaking of not smart enough, it took us two days to figure out how to get both our new headphones to work at the same time with the TV. Bluetooth is a one-to-one technology, so we had to get a transceiver to split the Bluetooth signal. What we didn't realize was that the transceiver assumed our TV was not Bluetooth. And our not-so-smart TV assumed that the transceiver wanted to Bluetooth with it. It didn't, of course. Once we figured out this little complexity, we found out that if we turned the transceiver and headphones on before we turned the TV on, then they would talk together. When we turned the TV on, the three devices just ignored the TV's Bluetooth. Through a cable, the TV then sent its sound through the transceiver/splitter to our headphones via Bluetooth. Simple as that. (Groan). Our headphones are more comfortable than the last ones and we can walk anywhere within 120 feet - like to the new microwave to make popcorn - and can still pick up the signal without static. The things we need to do to entertain ourselves when we can't travel. 

Can We Speak Thai?

We get this question from time to time.  Before I tell you how we are doing, please let me first put forth our excuses:

1. Neither one of us is married to a Thai person.
2. Neither one of us works for a Thai company.
3. We do not have any Thai people in our employ, although part of our "aging in place" plan definitely includes the hiring of Thais to help us in many ways.
4. One of us has a hearing problem.
5. One of us has an attention span problem.
6. All our Thai friends like to practice their English when they are with us.

The good news is that every single day we see some progress. Our vocabulary continues to increase and our pronunciation is improving. We spend about a half-hour every morning learning from an internet-based Thai language program on our Smart TV, while drinking a cup of coffee, sitting in our comfortable recliners. Each lesson has a review portion so it is possible to gauge how we are doing. It is slow progress on a very long and difficult road, but we continue to move forward. 

Darrel gets the most practice because he goes out more. I don't like to join him on the motorbike. But even when we get out, it isn't always possible to practice what we have learned. Reasons: 

1. Many of the workers in our neighbourhood are not Thais - most are Burmese. 
2. There are different dialects in Thailand. We are learning Bangkok Thai, but we live in the south, which has a different dialect. To further complicate things, many of the Thais who live here are actually from the north, which again has a different dialect. While we can (painfully) make ourselves understood to the southerners and northerners, we have no hope in understanding them when they talk together.
3. Same as 6 above - Thais like to practice their English with us.
4. If we are making a major purchase or buying something from the drug store or having a medical or dental procedure, we don't want any communication problems. Most professionals here speak very good English, so why complicate things?

So can we speak Thai? The answer to the question is "yes - a little bit", and probably it will always be just a little bit. 

Or as we say to our Thai friends: ได้นิดหน่อย
  

Snippets from Friends:

We celebrated our 50th Anniversary on Saturday, June 13, exactly 50 years after our wedding on June 13, 1970.  Due to coronavirus, it was a small affair with only seven people.  However, we took photos and videos and shared with friends and family via Zoom. (Colorado)

 

 

I know 4 people who are recovering from COVID. None of them are physically or mentally the same as pre-COVID. One has crippling insomnia and PTSD, another has been in rehab for a month and has short term memory problems and persistent muscle weakness. COVID is NOT just a flu. (Arizona)

 

 

Here in Cape Town we are still in a worsening  corona situation. The curve is still going up steeply .Corona started late here and we are still quite far away from it flattening and going down. However the government is slackening the restrictions and slowly opening businesses as unemployment has become very high and poverty and hunger are increasing, especially in the townships where the risk of infections is very high, due to people living on top of each other, fully packed trains and overloaded minibus taxis. We are still under lock down and are not allowed to leave the house unless for essential shopping and, since recently, going to work and short walks in nature, always with mouth cap and distancing. We have been meeting our children and grandchildren every Sunday digitally via "ZOOM" where we can talk and see each other having breakfast on the computer screen. Substitute fun!

I have started to accept the fact that life will never quite be the same. We are still hoping to make it back to our Thai home, so fingers crossed. Hope to see you soon.  

 

 

That’s it for now. Take care, everyone. Loretta & Darrel.

 

COVID-19 - Tenth Update - A Question For You

How many very sick people can hospitals treat?

On Flattening the Curve:  I am very curious. Above is an early chart showing why we had to “flatten the curve”. Oops, when I first typed that it came out “flatten the curse” and maybe that’s more appropriate. Either way, there is a clear line showing “How many very sick people hospitals can treat”. Similar graphs were shown to all of us and, if you responded like we did, that was all it took to encourage us to obey lock-down orders. When we saw graphs like this, we bought masks, hand sanitizer, extra non-perishable food supplies, and bleach (which we didn’t plan to drink). We added a bunch more movies to our Netflix watch list and we even started doing blog entries about our lock-down experience. We did not want to over-burden our hospitals.

Now we hear nothing about that very important line. Has it moved up? Down? It no doubt varies by country, province, city - probably even by hospital – but surely it is information that we should be aware of.  It was this information that was used to get us to understand the need for a lockdown. It should now be the information that makes us feel comfortable about the easing of lockdown measures. But I can’t find any reference to the position of that line for Canada or Thailand. Can anyone else find it? Looking forward to some responses.

On the Effective Reproduction Number (R_t): There is a magic R number.  If R  (sometimes also called Rt or Re) is above 1.0, the corona virus will spread quickly. When Rt is below 1.0, the virus will stop spreading.  If you want a more detailed explanation – click here.

So I have another question: Do you know what the R number is for your area? Is anyone getting that information on a regular basis? Looking forward to some responses.

Here’s what happened since the last update.

May 18 – We were able to say “welcome back” to a number of Dewa staff today. Many of them were working on our pool deck – removing lounge chairs to avoid over-crowding (but no one is here, sigh) and cleaning things up to make it look very fresh and inviting.

Darrel made a wonderful banner to let them know how thrilled we were that they are all slowly but surely returning to work. Our friend, Mink, helped us out with the translation of “You all have returned! Thank you for being healthy and staying safe.”

May 19 – Thailand is very serious about contact tracing. This news article gives all the details: click here. Every shop we enter will somehow gather our contact information so that they can let us know if anyone who shopped there had the infection. However, there is a concern about the line-ups at the registration desks … might be impossible to honour social distancing. I’m sure they’ll work it out. (As a matter of fact, when we eventually did start going shopping and to restaurants, there was no problem with line-ups).

Good news today:  “Recovered coronavirus patients who test positive weeks later are likely unable to transmit infection to others, new research out of South Korea concludes.” Of course more research is needed, but it gives us some hope.

Also happening today: The rainy season in Thailand has officially started. This was announced by the Thai Meteorological Department.

May 20 – A sad day in our neighbourhood. A Thai friend, just 53, has passed away. He had been ill for some time (not COVID related) and may he now rest in peace.

May 20 - Welcome to the club, Canada. Today, officials in Canada are recommending masks. Up until now, it was, “if you want to”. But now it is finally a recommendation. Once seen as a sign of excess caution, now seen as a sign of the times.

May 21 – We saw the coolest thing on CBC news. There is a county in Ontario that is using the services of paramedics above-and-beyond their normal call of duty to strengthen the healthcare system. The paramedics will make house-calls similar to what our doctors did in the olden days. We hope this continues well into the future. Click here for more information.

May 22 – Thailand had ZERO new cases today. Wow. There wasn’t much hullaballoo about it. They’re still worried about the second wave, and still very worried about tourists. But things are starting to open up – slowly and carefully.  Our hotel is still following all the rules. More good news – the Dewa Residences pool is now open. Here is the latest instructions for guests: 

1.       Please observe social distance of 2 meters or more when using swimming pool or fitness center

2.       Use of Residence facilities is restricted to registered residents only. Outside guests are not allowed to enjoy the facilities.

Please be reminded that Thailand is still under the State of Emergency, and if a random check from authorities reveals inappropriate use of facilities, they might order close-down of the Residence facilities.

May 23 – There was a cute photo in Thai news:

Dogs social distancing.

May 23 - We swam in our pool today. It was lovely being immersed after months of just standing and looking. We played volleyball and then started up the bubbles in the “spa” section. We had it all to ourselves.

May 24 – There are a number of food pantries in Thailand (I think the latest count is 150). People put food (canned goods, bottled drinks, eggs, noodles) and safety supplies (masks, hand gel) that they can spare into “pantries” on the street so that those in need can get some much-needed supplies for free. There are none in our area, but we are helping out where and when we can.

Where's the cat food?

May 25 - We were horrified by the news reports that George Floyd, a 46-year-old man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. We watched the video, in disbelief, where the police officer knelt on Mr. Floyd's neck and literally crushed the life out of him while three other officers stood by and watched. When bystanders tried to help Mr. Floyd, the police pulled out pepper spray as a warning to stay away. "Black Lives Matter" protests were started all over the world and are ongoing at the time of this blog post. 

May 26 - We read on CTV news that thousands of international travellers are still arriving in Canada.  Thailand is still mostly closed to international travellers, except for bringing Thais and their families home from abroad. Every arrival goes into strict quarantine and is carefully monitored. Maybe this is one of the reasons why the infection rate is much lower here. When new COVID cases are announced, the vast majority are those who have arrived from abroad.

May 28 - We had a trip into town. We now have another year added to our retirement visa (thank you Thailand immigration), and we are the proud owners of two new recliner chairs. It was interesting going to the mall to shop. We were, at first, a little nervous but soon felt very safe when we saw all the measures being taken by the shops to keep the coronavirus at bay.

Here are a few photos that give a good indication of a new era:

It was easy to follow the guidelines.

There was really no room for confusion.

Even with fewer chairs, it wasn't hard to find one.

Even cozy little cafes were open.

Everything is so clean!

We were made to feel welcome.

You can scan your information or write your name and phone number
on a piece of paper. This information is critical for contact tracing, if needed.

This was at lunch time. People are not rushing to the mall, obviously.

This is where we could record our details. Then sanitize our hands!

Rules for the escalator.

Welcome back!
Yours health & safety is our #1 concern.

Constant reminders to social distance.

Parties of four not welcome.

Walk this way (is what I kept humming all day).

We were very comfortable with eating out.

May 29 - We heard the disturbing news that New Brunswick has suffered a minor setback on that province's fight against the infection because a doctor visited Quebec and then didn't go into quarantine upon return. He has infected a number of others. To read more about it - click here. 

May 30 - All our books are now available in paperback form. They are more expensive than the e-book version, but at least it gives people a second choice. If you are interested, go into your Amazon account and search for "cankata".

June 1 - The Dewa coffee shop ("Bread & Butter") is finally open again. We stopped in for some pastries and coffee to help them celebrate, then ordered some Pad Thai with prawn for lunch - affordable and delicious. We had to register, get our temperature taken, and wear masks until seated at our "distanced" table.

June 4 - Our new smart TV was delivered today - an excellent companion for our recliners. Our old TV hasn't been working right since a lightning strike a few months ago. And like younger generations everywhere - the new TV is much smarter than the old one. 

June 5 - Friends joined us at the Dewa Bread & Butter. We followed all the COVID rules and got a bit nervous when police entered the establishment. Do we put our masks back on? But how do we drink our coffee? We just dithered and stalled and finally they left, smiling and waving at the staff. 

June 6 - We were able to go out for our full moon party. The drive to the restaurant ("Wine Connection") was beautiful, with everything so green and lush now that the wet season is here. Along the way, we had to stop for a small herd of water buffalo to cross the road but I messed up on the video. At the restaurant, the lamb shank was everything we expected and there was even a special price for dessert and coffee. We couldn't sit beside or across from each other, though, which is a snag in the social distancing rules which I'm sure they will sort out.

June 7 - The airport and the beach are still closed, so our village is still very quiet. I hope that in our next update I will be able to say 'business is booming" but I am probably being over-optimistic.

Snippets from friends:

Thank you again to everyone for sharing your stories. The following excerpts capture what many of us are going through:

It is quite nerve racking to have our country [USA] reopening despite the escalating infection rate. I, for one, will not venture out for a while and risk my health and my daughter's well-being. I will watch the more desperate and adventurous citizens test the situation. I feel so sorry for the first responders having to anticipate another influx of patients.

Life is very strange here [UK].

Social distancing is like playing dodgems with humans!

I’ve enjoyed teaching from home online, but it’s weird not seeing student faces/reactions to what I’ve told them.

We don’t live an extravagant lifestyle, but we love our winter trips [Canadians] and we may not be able to do that going forward.

We were due to be there [Phuket] in September but unlikely now.

We cancelled our November cruise last week. Bought an RV!

We try to grocery shop during Senior Hours once per week.

Everyone is wearing masks [US].

A picture is worth a thousand words. (Thanks Mel):

Good grief.

P.S.  Before posting this, we went for a bike ride. There are signs that our little village is coming alive. There were many people in the streets, cleaning up the tree debris in front of their establishments. And the soi dogs were livelier than usual ... maybe hopeful for more leftovers than they have been getting.

That’s it for now. Take care, everyone. Loretta & Darrel.