lockdown or quarantine?

the street art makes up for the concrete architecture

Our daily walk or ride takes us past a supermarket.  There's one that discounts fruit and veg, there's one that sells real tomato puree, one that sells gin and another that sells tonic.  So each day we can go somewhere different and still feel like we're not trapped in.  The Mexican government finally announced a national 'quarantine' for a month at the beginning of April with a principal message of "Quedate" - Stay In.  It has slowly taken effect.  At first many of the regular shops stay open.  Now most are closed up completely, after prompting from the local government.

Spot The Difference:  our street before quarantine

our street during quarantine

The language used by authorities and in the media is interesting.  In the UK there is a Lock-down.  It sounds like a form of imprisonment.  Is this a phrase the behavioural scientists have suggested?  There is also talk of waging a war, fighting the virus, battling the spread of the disease.  The NHS staff are at the frontline.  If that is true then it appears the UK government is sending our troops to battle without helmets or boots.

I'm critical of the Mexican government, in particular of the president, for the mixed messages he has been giving out.  He does have a serious problem here.  Any prolonged quarantine of the nation will have a serious impact on the majority of the poorer people - everyone who works in the informal economy.  We can see it with the little taco stands that dot the street corners here in La Paz.  Some are staying open, some are closed.  Some restaurants are serving take away only.  Most work has stopped.  People are staying at home.  The mayor has shut the malecon, the seafront promenade, because too many people were going there to exercise and take the air.  It's a real shame because this is the best public space in the city.

I'm also critical of the UK government.  I read from the editor of the UK's most respected medical journal (The Lancet) that the group of scientists giving advice to the government did not include an epidemiologist or anyone who worked in Public Health.  It seems that the UK government has made some poor decisions at critical points.  These have determined how the disease and the government response to the virus have developed.  I am furious.  But at times of war, should you be critical of the government or unite behind it, unquestioning, unjudging?  

What to do now that we really are isolating self-isolating?  Gayle is already at work on her 'quarantine' quilt, having bought fabric in the market before the shops all closed.  We should have bought that Mona Lisa jigsaw when we saw it - it wasn't there when we went back for it.  Happily we have plenty of books on our Kindles and Gayle is keen that I get our blog up to date.  There's also the BBC radio to listen to.  And the news.  No, not the news again.  We have to stop looking at the news.  That's not healthy.  What we are doing is having lots more Skype and WhatsApp and Zoom calls with family and friends.  This is keeping us busy enough.  Which is just as well - we might be here for some time.........

keeping busy swatting flies oh, and thinking about updating the blog