The Covid-19 pandemic started in Feb. 2020, with a bang very close to home. The first cluster of US cases was in Kirkland, Washington, 90 miles down I-5. The first superspreader event took place in Mt. Vernon, where I used to teach English, 20 miles south of our house.
“Last month, there were 120 residents at Life Care. As of Wednesday, at least 81 have tested positive for the coronavirus and of those, 34 have died, as well as a visitor. About a fourth of the coronavirus fatalities in the U.S. have been linked to the nursing home, according to state and federal data.” Seattle Times
“A COVID-19 superspreader unknowingly infected 52 people with the new coronavirus at a choir practice in Mount Vernon, Washington, in early March, leading to the deaths of two people, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report finds.”
Living through the Covid-19 pandemic is earthshaking, scary, difficult but punctuated by lessons and learnings as well as all the dark stuff. For some time I’ve been thinking about writing mine down, both for my own benefit and even perhaps others. The narrative jumps around some, between 2020 and 2021 because I didn’t start writing events down in any cohesive fashion until recently, and I am drawing on both past and very recent happenings. While I’m sticking to my original title, by the time I now begin to post online we are at least 13 months into this pandemic – and counting. We all have a pandemic story to tell. This is mine.
3-12-20 Email to my son and daughter-in-law who are less than two weeks into a trip to Namibia in Southern Africa. They feel very far away. “We are all social distancing like mad In Bellingham/Whatcom county. Everything has been cancelled over the past few days, events, colleges, etc. Whatcom Co. has declared an emergency. Talked to Ben yesterday and his team at work is on tenterhooks because there is no real guidance from Peace Health; they don’t have enough supplies or equipment for a local epidemic.
I had my own personal brush with potential infection. Went to tutoring last night and Felipe had a dry cough which he wasn’t really bothering to cover. He wasn’t concerned – only had it 5 days etc, but didn’t feel too bad. I explained the symptoms of Covid-19 and the fact that some people don’t really get very sick but that they can still spread it – if indeed they have if. Then I cancelled the rest of the tutoring session. Now I get to worry about it for a week or two.”
3-18-20, to Andrew and Jenny in Namibia. “Viral developments” have been happening over the past 2 days with head spinning rapidity. In Washington, no more public school, in fact no more public anything: WWU classes, churches, downtown movie theater, senior center, library and more, all closed for the foreseeable future. One diagnosed case in Bellingham but as you move south down I-5, more and more. And since there’s really no systematic testing in place to speak of, we don’t of course know how many people are sick. I was sort of doing ok until I learned they closed the library. Now I’m gobsmacked! Feels spooky and ominous. Looking forward to hearing from you guys.”
3-18-20, Andrew to us: Hola Team, After much deliberation (much!) we have come up with a plan. Time will tell if it’s a good one. We have had to purchase new tickets to get home, and after avoiding the $18,000 and $8,000 dollar ones (no kidding), and wanting a few days to avoid the mayhem back home, we settled on a flight that has us back in California on Wednesday 25th. This flight is as direct as we can get, routed Windhoek-Jo’burg-Dulles-SFO. We’re told that our tickets are fully changeable, so theoretically we can move the dates if needed.
Things here in Namibia remain calm, with coronavirus just starting to enter the news. I’m sure it will spin up fast when it gains traction. Itinerary as follows: Windhoek, Upuwo, Epupa falls, Marienfluss, Etanga or Opuwo, Windhoek, fly out on 3-24.
3-20-20, Andrew to us. Yes, this is a mess. Total mayhem today and I’m not gonna lie, we’re a little stressed out. We started very early and made it as far as Kamajab, heading to Windhoek as fast as we can. Should be there tomorrow.
Our SA airways flights have been cancelled, so we are now on a third (!) set of tickets, now flying Windhoek-Jo’burg-Dubai-LAX, departing early on the 22nd. Fingers crossed that Emirates doesn’t also cancel service.
South African government wasn’t letting foreigners leave the country unless they were catching a direct flight to their home country, but since there are now no direct flights to the US (Delta also canceled their route), they are allowing layovers in Dubai and some other places. So that is our plan. We take off in about 36 hrs our time, which is an eternity these days, so we are hoping this all works out. It’s going to take weeks to untangle our flight mess when we get back, and it’s getting expensive.
I’ll look at that article you sent, but data/service has been crappy. Try whatsapp to Jenny’s number, it’s the best way to stay in touch, easier than email. My phone is dead, so Jenny’s phone is it. I’ll check in tomorrow when we get to Windhoek. Andrew
Note: My son, Andrew and wife, Jenny have been traveling throughout southern Africa for several years. They own a Landcruiser, stored in Windhoek, Namibia, when they are home in Santa Cruz. If you’re interested in Africa, try his website: https://stuckinlowgear.com
Or: https://andrewmckee.smugmug.com for superb (my opinion) photos of Africa and elsewhere.