I’m writing today from our home in Alto Boquete. The last few weeks and especially the last few days have certainly seen some major changes around the world. Here in Panamá where there are not a lot of cases of Covid-19 (yet anyway), schools have closed for the foreseeable future, travel in and out of the country is restricted, bars, restaurants, most businesses, gyms, and almost anywhere where people gather for commerce or socialization is supposed to be closed or restricted. Here in Panamá the guidance from the various levels of government are constantly changing and evolving, and social media is rife with the latest rumors, especially fearful and scary ones (like no travel, no getting into Boquete district without proof of address, riots and social unrest, stores running out of everything, etc.). We have not really experienced any of these things yet, and hopefully we won’t although here in Central America it’s still very early in the evolution of this pandemic. Time and patience will get us all through this.
The global economy is certainly under a great deal of stress, as are personal finances around the world. I wish I could expect calm and rational behavior from people everywhere, but that may be asking too much. There are statistics broadcast that change and contradict themselves almost hourly. I personally don’t believe the lethality of the Covid-19 virus is extremely high although that changes depending upon your demographic. I have also heard its ten times more lethal that the flu which means that roughly two out of one hundred will die compared to two out of one thousand. Of course, it also seems to be extremely contagious so I’m sure common-sense hygiene and “social distancing” are important for us all. Even if we happen to feel well, we certainly don’t want to infect anyone else who may become seriously ill, or worse.
We are planning on riding this out here at home in Alto Boquete and we will do our best to stay safe and healthy and we wish safety and health to all our family, friends, and everyone.
All for now until our next post. Stay well!
Saludos, Craig