That Darn Virus

We are not coming home early!

We have been prompted by several people to come home early as the virus is spreading. These are our reasons for staying here at least until the end of April.

We think this whole thing is blown way out of proportion. People die from cold and flu year-round and nothing is done, life for most of us goes on. The fatalities so far seem to be the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. The death rate seems to be about 3-4%. but this is based on known cases. What of the thousands of people who don’t report. If it was in the 20% range we could see more cause for concern. But it isn’t. Most people who get it have minor symptoms such as a sore throat and cough. We would normally call this a seasonal cold.

I bet if the bubonic plague hit, the panic wouldn’t be this bad. And that’s the main problem. The media starts saying that the sky’s falling (it sells news) and everybody believes them and runs around in total panic buying up umbrellas and toilet paper.

Why toilet paper? If there was a run on fruit juice, aspirin or fruit, and veggies I could understand it. But T.P? I just don’t get it!

Every year when people come down here, they have colds, sneezes, and sore throats that they contract on the plane on the way down. They get over it and so will we.

When we went on the butterfly tour, we came back with those same symptoms and so did Mike and Pat. Because it’s cold and crowded in the interior we may well have contacted the virus. If so, it was gone in a few days. Just a sore throat, a minor cough, and no runny nose.

There is the chance that Mexicans who vacation here in Melaque have bought it with them from the interior. They are here now in their hundreds as it’s a holiday weekend. We have little or no contact with them. They stay on the beach. Sometimes sleeping there. They don’t use the same restaurants or grocery stores that we do, so little contact.

Also, Mexicans don’t panic. They believe that God will take care of them so if they get a cold they just get over it (or not) and carry on. I’m sure thousands of cases go unrecorded because of this attitude.

Why would we leave a low impact area and come home to utter panic? One of the best ways of avoiding this thing is to be in the open air and sunshine. We have lots both here and we live mostly outside.  Also, we have heard that the virus can’t take more than 26-27 c outside the body. Which means it’s less likely to be on door handles handrails and umbrella handles etc.

Of course, precautions should be taken as nobody wants even a cold. Hand washing, coughing and sneezing into your sleeve are just common sense. We will probably get face masks for the flight home as that’s the best place to catch any disease.

People are heading home in droves. They are waiting for hours on the phone to contact an airline and getting totally panicked if they can’t reach one. We’ve booked our flights and if they’re canceled we will just wait, in the air and sunshine, until they start up again. Besides, so far we have lots of toilet paper here and tequila kills germs.

Thanks for your concerns but we are fine and will be home soon.