Uncertain Notes On Quarantine Life Day 27 and the Future on Ambergris Caye
COVID19 and Belize…
Just a few weeks ago we lived in a world with an amazingly high degree of certainty. I knew the weather forecast next week or schedule for the next few month…anything that I didn’t know, I could look up on the internet. I was even pretty sure my political views were right – I mean, I could find so much on Facebook to back me up. Question of any sort? Instant answer.
And then BOOM. I know absolutely nothing. My schedules, day planner or paychecks…mean. nothing. In fact, I honestly didn’t even know the right way to wash my own hands. (20 seconds is an eternity! I’ve spent 46 years forgetting to wash my thumbs and the back of my hands! So much for my expired Food Handling Certificate.)
UNCERTAINTY (or softened a bit with words like “new normal” or “unprecedented”) leads to fear and…fear? It makes pretty much EVERYONE a hot fucking mess. Angry, resentful, rigid. We have plenty of food stocked up…and water…and prescriptions and dog food and I am SO grateful to be in that position but I have three mental and emotional states right now.
- Crying or on the edge of it.
- Snapping at my boyfriend or those on Facebook that spend half the day trying to support their pet theories with random studies from around the world.
- Sleep/denial/baking. And I can switch QUICKLY and WITHOUT WARNING betwixt and between.
You might want to reach out to Jeff 🙂 Though he’s currently on a 20 minute line at the Greenhouse in downtown San Pedro.
Here’s an update on what’s going on both in my life and on Ambergris Caye.
We are on Day 27 of Quarantine on this island. We had the first two cases, daughter and mother, announced March 23rd and have been on varying levels of quarantine. The entire country joined the island April 2nd as more cases were found. (More of the timeline in this post.)
How can you talk about TRAVEL when people are worrying about going outside their front doors safely? As our friend Adam said “our world just got ALOT smaller’.
Here is the chart presented this week by the Government of Belize Press Office.
This is certain. The borders are closed. We are supposed to be restricted to our homes most of the day. There is a curfew. The number of tests given, the cases identified, the 2 deaths.
Each case is announced and tracked and traced and people quarantined.
Spraying that was being done in San Pedro town yesterday.
The huge uncertainty that is weighing on every single resident of this country is: How do we open the economy when the economy of our island and much of our country is TOURISM?
Tourism requires BIG decisions at a national level but also at an international level and then decisions made by travelers. We must open our borders. Flights need to resume to Belize. Most foreign countries don’t even allow international travel right now. Anywhere. For travelers…are you scared to travel outside your home country without a vaccine? Are you scared to just get on a plane or a cruise ship?
The US government’s recent “Open Up America Again” plan doesn’t deal with foreign travel at all.
Even travel experts have no idea – this article quotes a travel industry analyst saying we could return to normal levels by mid-2021? Though he suggests the reality could be even more bearish…
The website SKIFT has a great list of their own articles and others focused solely on Tourism.
Without a robust healthcare infrastructure and testing/disease tracking plan set up in Belize…can we just open up? Do we have to wait for a widely distributed vaccine?
But with at least 40% of the country out of work (and growing) – all but essential businesses closed and the government providing minimal benefits (can you imagine living on $150bzd for 2 weeks on Ambergris Caye?) – could we emerge from this even close to whole? How many dive shops, restaurants, bars, construction projects will never re-open?
But if we open up and have an outbreak that affects locals and visitors…
But…
But…
But…
UNCERTAINTY.
I think everyone is living in this suspended world right now. Waiting and hoping. The only actual date I’ve heard for a tourism opening is from a resident/condo owner at Captain Morgan’s. They are scheduling re-opening for October 30th, 2020.
It’s all making me feel like I need to get baking…
I have no answer.
I’ll update you all on my puppies and some pictures of the gorgeous weather in a day or two. PLEASE let me know your thoughts!
I am going to listen in on this Zoom Conference on April 20th with some experts and IDB Caribbean called “The Caribbean and the Coronavirus: Options for Businesses”.
I’m hoping the alternative to Travel Blogger is Banana Bread baker. I will thrive!
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