Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 16 Lockdown; Day 1 Re-entry
April 11, 2020-Day 16 of SA Lockdown: Day 1 US “Self-Isolation”
South Africa: CoVid-19 cases in Africa rise to over 12,700 – with 2,050 recoveries & 666 associated deaths
USA: More than 500,000 confirmed CoVid cases; NYPD reported that nearly 20% of its uniformed members - 7,096 people - called in sick
We’re Back!
We answered the big “Should we stay or should we go?” question Thursday morning by joining about 300 others outside Cape Town Stadium Thursday morning to begin evacuation. Our instructions were to rendezvous at the chosen assembly point: Cape Town Stadium, Gate One between 8: 40 am and 10:40 am.
The TV Camera Captured our “Good Sides”! Click on the picture for the article about our evacuation from SA
Gloria, our Manderley Lodge hostess organized an uber escort, fried up one last hearty traditional breakfast and shoved us out the door at 8: 15. Although she said she didn’t want us to leave—as it would be “quite lonely” without us—she didn’t want us to be late either. I popped an apple in my bag, cut a few others in half for the birds and waved goodbye.
So Long Manderley Lodge…and Gloria…and those tasty breakfasts!
Twelve days into the SA Lockdown, 15 after we were originally scheduled to fly (Mar 23), & 4 cancelled flights (United; BA Mar 24; Emirates Mar 25; Etihad Mar 28), after 37 days in South Africa, we were flying home—well, not quite “home”, to Washington D.C. (Along with signing a promissory note to reimburse the government for the cost of flights—about $1500 per person—we were also informed that we each had to secure our own transportation from Dulles straight home to quarantine for 14 days.) And that we could only bring 1 checked bag each. Now, 1 checked bag might be fine for a jaunt, but evacuation?
Immediately after the Evacuation fights were announced, a Whatsapp evacuee group formed. (I didn’t join.) Curtis did, so while I bit#!@$-ed about having to shrink our belongings—along with gifts we’d purchased and biking gear—into 2 bags and lamented having to leave things, he reported how others, too, were having to leave behind bikes, dive equipment, a year’s worth of belongings, etc. Many professed delight and relief to be returning; some, presented with the opportunity to leave, decided to “Give up their space for someone else.”
“Simply put,” said Ramaphosa, “if we end the lockdown too soon, or too abruptly, we risk a massive and uncontrollable resurgence of the disease. We risk reversing the gains that we have made over the last few weeks, and rendering meaningless the great sacrifices that we have all made.”
In our case, with “home,” New York being the epicenter of CoVid-19 horror, the decision to return wasn’t easy. If we could have secured permission to return to Shona & Charles in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (with no reported cases of CoVid at that time) we most likely would have. And, yes, we did ask—twice! And were politely told, in a strongly worded note, to “adhere to” the SA Government’s Lockdown mandate.
Couple Married 51 Years Dies of CoVid Complications within 6 Minutes of Each Other. Their son, Buddy recorded this message.
Gate 1 wasn’t difficult to locate, the U.S. Consulate flags were flying and the check-in line already stretched down the block. We pulled our bags in a socially-acceptable meter behind the others—gave an embassy rep our names, replaced our no-sew t-shirt masks with official masks she handed us and waited. An Embassy Rep announced that initial screening was delayed because a British fight of evacuees, scheduled to depart before us, wasn’t quite through the screening.
Near the front of the line a camera crew was making a huge fuss over a cluster of 30 somethings. Under the guise of snapping a picture/or trip to the porta-potty just opposite, I eased up so I could hear who they were—what made them so special. Turned out the group were off a yacht that had been sailing for about a month when it docked in Cape Town and stuck in Lockdown, riding the tide, trapped on the yacht for the past 2 weeks. As “luxury” as it may have been, apparently, it wasn’t big enough. The embassy guy who told me about it said they’d had a “rough time of it.”
South African Lockdown Extended by Two Weeks
Keep your masks up; one per seat Maam; no touching!
Back in the U. S of A! Waiting for the Shuttle
When we arrived, there was one line at the Assembly Point, but as we watched others pull up, disembark, wave and air-kiss friends & family, another line beside us grew: the youngsters & oldsters line. I didn’t know whether Curtis should be flattered or jilted not to be in that “other line” especially as it began moving way before ours. Surprisingly, at least to us, evacuees were of all ages and types: refinery workers, teachers, families with small children, teens, retirees off cruise ships & tours, one lady and her husband were part of a 150-guest wedding. The lady had been a bridesmaid (she trumpeted loudly enough that we all heard.” Now that’s what I call a long wedding…
Kuddos to the U.S. Embassy evacuation team! The entire process was expertly conducted! Once the line began moving, we were smoothly, politely, cheerfully funneled from desk to desk to medical check area, banded with florescent green bracelets and fed into an waiting area stocked with “donated” sandwiches and boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts, water, sodas, restrooms. From there we were loaded onto buses—were we sat, masked, politely social distant—one person per seat for a last bus tour through Cape Town.
The morning was warm, bright, skies clear and cloudless affording us glorious views of Table Mountain, stands of trees & townships, past our hotel, the restaurant Curtis & I sneaked away to that first night in Cape Town, part of the Argus route—a time when our biggest worry was finishing the ride…
“The State Department said it has helped bring back more than 56,000 Americans who were stranded abroad after airlines canceled international flights and nations shut down airports. The vast majority of Americans returned from Central and South America, with the largest number — 6,800 people — coming back from Peru.”
Cape Town Airport was empty, hushed. People whispered and kept our distances as we wound our way up and around the check-in lines. I must admit finding it surprising. I had expected people to be sharing stories of how they’d spent Lockdown, or how they’d come to be stranded, but no one did. It felt almost as though anyone who said too much would be yanked from the line.
When our turn came to check-in, I thanked the airline rep for coming to work for us. I asked if she had children at home. She said yes. So then I said, does it feel good to be away from them for a few hours. She laughed, said, yes. And asked if we wanted to check another bag. Where was she yesterday when I was repacking. I looked around wondering which of the others in line were the ones who’d had to leave their dive equipment. Hopefully they’ll never find out we could have checked more bags.
Before take off, the U.S. consulate came onboard the flight to make a speech. We all clapped and cheered. We were seated. We were soon to be on our way. We had no complaints… Besides, we’d heard there was wine onboard…
The flight was uneventful. Curtis and I had an extra seat between us, food, movies to watch, and a car reserved in D.C. The flight stopped in Lomé, the capital of Togo in West Africa to refuel. We arrived at Dulles pre-dawn, were herded through passport control and burped out into the empty airport. No banners, no reporters, no confetti or balloons—no coffee. Welcome Back!—no get your behinds home!
Some positive News:
CoVid patients treated with hydroxychloroquine (a malaria medicine) are healing faster. Reported a Senegalese Doctor in Dakar
Number of Stroke calls last week were less than usual (according to doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan.)
Number of people being hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York and California is falling.
Even among regions that have the highest levels of violence outside a war zone, fewer people are being killed and fewer robberies are taking place.
In Chicago, drug arrests have plummeted 42% in the weeks since the city shut down.
Will babies born in winter ‘21 be Gen C?
“Some criminal lawyers say, is that drug dealers have no choice but to wait out the economic slump.”
Socially isolating doesn’t necessarily mean lonely, and the lack of alcohol doesn’t mean we can’t have fun…Jan 2021 Welcome Gen-C! Corona & Covie are on the way!