FYI

What an interesting month this is becoming!  Most of the snowbirds are gone on repatriation flights or got earlier ones, the beaches are empty as people from Merida are being asked not to come as the beaches are closed!  Bars are closed as are many restaurants.  Take out is available.

From Kitty and it is well said!!

Our federal government has so far responded much the same as the US – lots of talk about financial relief to businesses but very little action on stopping the spread of the virus.  Fortunately, state and local governments have been extremely pro-active far in advance of the virus’ arrival in Yucatan.  There have been only a dozen or so confirmed cases in Merida, all tested, isolated and under treatment.  Bars, cantinas, discos, gyms and other gathering places have been closed.  Concerts, sporting events, etc. all cancelled until at least April 20th.  Restaurants can stay open but  can only seat half their usual capacity to provide social distancing and must close at 10:00 p.m.  Classes were suspended on March 20th, adding an additional 2 weeks to the Semana Santa spring break.  So far, no mandatory shelter-in-place has been ordered but streets are almost empty of pedestrians and vehicle traffic is virtually non-existent. It is Sunday afternoon as I write this and there is not a soul on the beach in Progreso, whereas on most Sundays many local families would be enjoying this simple and free pleasure.  It feels like the calm before the storm but people here are taking the threat very seriously and staying at home, at least until April 20th when the next update from the government is released.
We’ve stocked up on essentials:  groceries, dog & cat food, kitty litter, smokes and booze and plan to just hunker down at home for the next month or longer if necessary.  There’s always something needing fixing or maintaining at the beach which will keep Al busy.  I’m going to dust off my coloring books again and catch up on some reading.  I may even get my Africa photos into an album after almost 3 years!
I think it’s important that we remember that the mortality rate from this latest pandemic is quite low (so far); most people recover and for many the symptoms are mild.  It will eventually run its course as they all do, so the thing to do now is to be patient, take precautions and count our blessings.
I hope you are all well and safe and will remain that way.

Time to up your covid-19 Corona Virus Game

New post on Surviving Yucatan

Time to up your COVID-19 Corona Virus Game by yucalandia March 29, 2020 Have you considered   why   all our our efforts. and our authorities’ efforts are  not  working to stop the spread of COVID-19 ? Can you imagine seeing the invisible aerosols that we sneeze-out, cough & spray while talking? How would you act, if you saw that the person just 1.5 m away from you … was spraying 1,500   ~highly infectious~   fine aerosol droplets … floating invisible … for up to 20 feet … as clouds of 1 micron (um) droplets … from just 5 minutes of talking … ? How would you    change your ways   if you saw those clouds of 1 um   ~highly infectious~  fine aerosols … were being   BREATHED IN  by everyone   within 10 feet … even those wearing simple      home-made    masks … ? How would you   change your ways … If you saw that those  clouds of ~highly infectious~  fine invisible floating aerosols … were STILL in the room … 3 hours later … Floating,  swirling as each person walks by …  infectious for 3 hrs …  swirling & circulating    inside the room    for a full 3 hours …  Lurking … waiting… invisible     for people WITHOUT MASKS   to walk in,   and   breath them deep into their lungs. Does     ” Social Distancing ”    still sound like   ‘THE Solution’ ** …  when a LOUD TALKER    who is shedding shocking amounts of Coronavirus into their throats …. in the 2 days BEFORE symptoms … peak  amounts of SARS-CoV-2 virus into their throats … in the mucous …  ON THEIR buzzing vibrating VOCAL CORDS … SPITTING out up to 15,000   highly-infectious   fine aerosols in just 5 minutes of talking… Now,  do we see why the Coronavirus keeps spreading? All the HANDWASHING in the WORLD … does not protect you     at all    from breathing in     those 1,500 – 15,000 fine    highly-infected aerosols    floating infectious, circulating around inside a room … from just 5 minutes of talking    by someone who was there   3 hrs  before you arrived… ONLY a good mask … that blocks, stops, catches    all those 1,500 – 15,000 tiny fine TALKED aerosols … each weigh just 0.0000000000005 grams … so they do NOT fall onto counters or clothing like the big majority of coughed & sneezed droplets… This means    just 5 minutes of TALKING    not only generates as many total droplets as an open cough ….  TALKING      generates 25X times more  of those   dangerous fine aerosols that we   breath   in … ~  25X more highly infectious fine aerosols  …. than an open cough  … from normal volume talking ~      that linger     lurk     circulating in the room for the last 3 hours… **Social Distancing does help protect you from the big heavy spitted droplets from messy talkers,  from coughs & sneezes ….    but   Social distancing of 1.5 meters puts you RIGHT IN THE TARGET ZONE of the Corona virus talker’s fine highly-infectious aerosol clouds…. SO … Either stay home …    or Only talk with other people    OUTSIDE   where the fine aerosols are    quickly  blown  away … diluted out …  to harmless levels.. or WEAR A GOOD MASK … with proven N-95 materials    … a mask that seals well … to protect yourself … and others ….  from the  clouds   of highly infectious   fine aerosols    spewed by talkers… A good mask …. Protecting you    as you walk through the grocery store …. from those   1500   fine aerosols … floating around infectious     from the previous 3 hrs of people talking in   that  area    that you just walked into… and yes… There are   YEARS of good aerosol science    and  high quality virology work     that prove these    troubling realities: The Science behind the   Coronavirus Spread by Talking   Problem: The scientific Aerosol Science results are conclusive: “1.   The particle emission rate during speech is linearly correlated with the amplitude (loudness) of vocalization, for four different languages tested. 2. The particle size distribution is   independent   of vocalization loudness or language spoken. 3.   Some individuals (…. the mysterious  Super Spreaders  of Coronavirus …)    emit particles at a rate more than an order of magnitude larger (10 times more)  than their peers,    i.e., they behave as “speech superemitters.” how long Corona virus lasts on surfaces, and in the air… “Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has quickly outstripped the pace of the 2003 SARS epidemic. “Superspread” of the earlier disease arose from infection during medical procedures, in which a single infected individual seeded many secondary cases. In contrast, the novel coronavirus appears to be spread more through human-to-human transmission in a variety of settings. “ HOW LONG DOES THE Coronavirus hang around in our homes? “(Scientists) found that SARS-CoV-2   (in fine 1 um aerosols)   was largely stable through the full 180-minute test,    with only a slight decline at 3 hours. “ “The researchers then tested the viruses on a variety of surfaces for up to 7 days, using humidity values and temperatures designed to mimic “a variety of household and hospital situations.” The volumes of viral exposures that the team used were consistent with amounts found in the human upper and lower respiratory tracts.” “The novel coronavirus was most stable on plastic and stainless steel, with some virus remaining viable up to 72 hours (3 days).    However, by that time the viral load had fallen by about three orders of magnitude, “ Scientists found   “the two viruses (SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2)    differed in staying power on copper and cardboard.    No viable SARS-CoV-2 was detectable on copper after 4 hours      or on cardboard after 24 hours.  … “

The latest report from Progreso shows the Mayor is beginning to see he will need to be tough. This arrived in Progreso 5 minutes ago!

Mayor Julián Zacarías ordered the closure of marinas and accuses negligence of the Port Captaincy
Posted 5 hours ago on Mar 29, 2020 By Progreso Hoy
4-6 minutes

THE SUMMER ZONE IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO GO OUT OF THE WALK WITHOUT IMPORTANT CONTINGENCY BY COVID-19, EVEN IN BOATS TO WALK IN FRONT OF THE COASTS / INHABITANTS REQUEST THE IMMEDIATE CLOSURE OF ACCESS TO PROGRESS AND EVICTION OF THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE A TENEN NOEN

PROGRESS.– In the midst of the contingency for the Coronavirus Covid-19 and after dozens of Merida families and other municipalities arrive at their summer houses in Progreso to vacation, even taking their sand bikes, boats and jet skis to the sea for tours along the coast, the mayor Julián Zacarías Curio ordered this day the closure of all the tourist marinas in the municipality and controls surveillance in those sectors.
The aforementioned, according to what he said, given the lack of response from the Port Captaincy that follows the departure of boats and does not carry out any surveillance on the coast, where many individuals take their boats out without going through the shelter port.
Despite the alert that there is a national level for the Covid-19 pandemic and the warrant to stay home to reduce the number of infections, the reality is that dozens of families, mainly from Mérida, have come to their summer homes and They take boat rides, they are going fishing, as if nothing happened.
Some have come to pass the contingency far from the city, but others, import the emergency, have come to spend their vacations in a normal way, and they walk in the beach area.

INHABITANTS ‘COMPLAINTS …
This has generated complaints from residents of Progreso and from police stations such as Chicxulub, Chelem and Chuburná, where dozens of people continue to arrive every day.
According to inhabitants, many “vacationers” are arriving from Mérida through the Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto highway, while others affected by the coastal highway (via Uaymitún-Telchac) or by the federal highway Chicxulub Pueblo-Chicxulub Puerto, where there is no checkpoint. nor surveillance by the authorities.
Only at the main access to the port is there a checkpoint, where the municipal police invite those who return to their homes in case they only come for a walk, reiterating that “we are not on vacation.”

PROGRESEÑOS REQUEST CLOSING ACCESS TO PROGRESO …
Many advances have requested the City Council to close the accesses to Progreso in order to intensify health surveillance and prevent the entry of people who “have nothing to do in the port.”
The inhabitants ask for similar measures to other municipalities, where only local inhabitants, businessmen and workers are allowed to pass, but not people who come for a walk.
However, a progress preview comes every day and there are no restrictions, just the “invitation” to return.

THE COAST, FULL OF PEOPLE …
In this sense, many of those families who are already installed in the summer area are not complying with the quarantine ordered by the authorities, so a newspaper takes walks with their boats throughout the coast.
Just yesterday, as we reported, the Progreso Municipal Police evicted the visitors who were off the Yucatecan coast aboard a boat, at the height of Chicxulub Puerto. With the help of a drone with loudspeakers, they were evicted from the site and invited to return to their boat in their marina, because it was recorded that “we are not on vacation, but in a contingency.”
However, yesterday and today dozens of boats were observed at sea, which led to the mayor Julián Zacarías and the closure of the marinas.

TOURIST MARINES CLOSE …
Given this situation, and due to the increase in maritime traffic, the mayor Zacarías Curió the following:
“Friends of PROGRESO, I want to report that due to the lack of cooperation from many visitors who have not yet understood the magnitude of the health contingency motivated by COVID-19 and due to the lack of response from the Puerto The Navy and the Ministry of Communications and Transportation regarding the closure to navigation of tourist marinas in #Progreso is that he recommended the closure of these facilities starting tomorrow to prevent the spread of the virus.
Record that it is not a vacation and that my government will use all the legal and technological means at its disposal such as drones, patrols and closure to protect our citizens. # Stay at home “.
As far as is known, the authorities are considering restricting access to Progreso. (ProgresoHoy.com)