Crazy time to be in Paris - Corona-virus
The Corona virus has been following me around since late January when it first appeared in Thailand. Chiang Mai had 10 flights a week direct from Wuhan, China - ground zero, so to speak. The last week I was there everyone was wearing a mask ....not that it does any good but it does prevent you from touching your face. I arrived in Spain via BKK and CDG on February 6th and felt relieved and a little safer. There were no known cases reported in Spain at that time. I merrily drove all over the Costa del Sol. On February 28th Spain reported two people in Madrid and one in Seville that were thought or suspected to have the virus. Tiki joined me in Spain on March 2nd and at that time there were less than five reported cases in the Costa Del Sol area. We left Spain on March 6th and at that time there were six reported cases. They said that the cause could be traced back to people visiting Italy. Today Spain announced that it will go into lock down as of Monday.
From March 6th -10th we drove through Belgium and Amsterdam. Both cities were crowded with tourists and life was normal. Well as normal as it usually is.
On March 10th we arrived in Paris - the clusters of CV-19 were not in Paris proper , there was an area to the north of Paris and a few pockets around France. We noticed that there was a definite lack of visible tourists, absolutely no line ups anywhere. The hop on hop off bus was busy but not packed. When Trump announced on Wednesday that no flights were allowed to enter the US from the EU (except from the UK) which is no longer in the EU anyhow we noticed a significant drop in tourists. The Louvre, which had been closed the previous week for a few days had reopened and it was pretty much life as usual here. Yesterday the Louvre closed, the d'orsay closed and also the Eiffel tower. On Thursday Macron was on TV and all we really understood was wash your hands, keep our distance and Viva La France.
Today we went to Pere Lachaise cemetery, it's out of the city, it's huge and we would be keeping our distance. After about three hours we took the bus back to our hotel area and holy mackerel it was once again life a usual.
So, we get no news on TV - just what we read on our CBC app and google. We have been monitoring France and at this point Paris is still not considered a cluster area. As I said, it appears to be life as usual! Macron had asked the nation to keep their distance but the French seem to think that it is their right to practice the "art of French living" part of which is sitting in a cafe. The tables are tiny, the space is small and people are jammed in. Tonight, as Tiki and I were out for our final supper in Paris Macron announced that bars,cafes and non essential business must close until further notice. We found this out as there were a group of students from McGill beside us at dinner. Cute kids! They are all going home in the next few days as classes are cancelled.
So, from the perspective of being in the EU - now considered the epicenter of the virus and from hearing about people in Canada hoarding toilet paper and grocery store line ups it is difficult to comprehend. Difficult to fathom that here there is a lack of concern and to fathom that in Canada there is what seems to be over the top concern. I get it that Health Canada or who ever it is wants to stop the virus before it gets out of control and I commend them for their actions - it is the public's reactions that have me stymied. It is not like Sars - flu like symptoms. I get that those that are old or have a compromised immune system are at risk. But the fear that appears to be controlling the masses is what I find hard to understand. I'm not there and you're not here!
I would have hated to be Typhoid Mary cause I have an idea of how she felt!
Hopefully we both get out of here on Monday!
From March 6th -10th we drove through Belgium and Amsterdam. Both cities were crowded with tourists and life was normal. Well as normal as it usually is.
On March 10th we arrived in Paris - the clusters of CV-19 were not in Paris proper , there was an area to the north of Paris and a few pockets around France. We noticed that there was a definite lack of visible tourists, absolutely no line ups anywhere. The hop on hop off bus was busy but not packed. When Trump announced on Wednesday that no flights were allowed to enter the US from the EU (except from the UK) which is no longer in the EU anyhow we noticed a significant drop in tourists. The Louvre, which had been closed the previous week for a few days had reopened and it was pretty much life as usual here. Yesterday the Louvre closed, the d'orsay closed and also the Eiffel tower. On Thursday Macron was on TV and all we really understood was wash your hands, keep our distance and Viva La France.
Today we went to Pere Lachaise cemetery, it's out of the city, it's huge and we would be keeping our distance. After about three hours we took the bus back to our hotel area and holy mackerel it was once again life a usual.
So, we get no news on TV - just what we read on our CBC app and google. We have been monitoring France and at this point Paris is still not considered a cluster area. As I said, it appears to be life as usual! Macron had asked the nation to keep their distance but the French seem to think that it is their right to practice the "art of French living" part of which is sitting in a cafe. The tables are tiny, the space is small and people are jammed in. Tonight, as Tiki and I were out for our final supper in Paris Macron announced that bars,cafes and non essential business must close until further notice. We found this out as there were a group of students from McGill beside us at dinner. Cute kids! They are all going home in the next few days as classes are cancelled.
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| haha - they bought us shots of Tequila!! |
So, from the perspective of being in the EU - now considered the epicenter of the virus and from hearing about people in Canada hoarding toilet paper and grocery store line ups it is difficult to comprehend. Difficult to fathom that here there is a lack of concern and to fathom that in Canada there is what seems to be over the top concern. I get it that Health Canada or who ever it is wants to stop the virus before it gets out of control and I commend them for their actions - it is the public's reactions that have me stymied. It is not like Sars - flu like symptoms. I get that those that are old or have a compromised immune system are at risk. But the fear that appears to be controlling the masses is what I find hard to understand. I'm not there and you're not here!
I would have hated to be Typhoid Mary cause I have an idea of how she felt!
Hopefully we both get out of here on Monday!
