As much as we think we are leading an isolated life, a biological virus demonstrates how connected we are to almost everyone on the planet. A previous post – The Nature of Nature – commented on the sometimes at best, inconvenient, sometimes deadly, challenges Nature hands us. Since then the stakes have only grown. Are we really only six degrees of separation from everyone?
St. Lucia, population 165,000, was originally known as Lyonola by the Amerindians and Hewandorra by the Caribs. St. Lucia is the only independent country in the world named after a female saint. It is small, very picturesque, and relied on the tourist service industry for 83% of its GDP. It needs to be connected (as all East Caribbean Islands) for the continued foreign revenue that it relies on. As most of the world, it faces the challenge of isolating and limiting the coronavirus invasion. Isolation is not a permanent solution.
As our good cruising friend Bob wrote on his blog, the safest place to be in a zombie attack is on a boat. Far from shore. Zombies can’t swim. Neither, I understand, can the current virus of concern. In that we take solace, but no one can live in isolation forever, nor would we want to.
Isolation is needed to slow the spread of the infection so that the medical systems are not overwhelmed. There is no greater demonstration of thinking about the “common good” than this. Our strong tradition of honoring individualism is clearly challenged when isolation – the ultimate manifestation of individualism – seems to be problematic to the majority of the population, not to mention the disruption to daily life, long term goals and desired security.
For now, we take note of the recommendations of limited social interactions, wash hands frequently, and avoid panic buying. I still can’t make the connection between toilet paper and the apocalypse. There must be some other stuff that is more important in life than toilet paper but maybe we’ve been at sea too long.
As of today, we are waiting for some engine repairs and are safely docked at the Rodney Bay Marina. Hopefully, we will complete repairs this week and be free to head south. Each day we will need to hear about the conditions in St Vincent, Grenada and Trinidad – specifically entry requirements. We expect there will be constantly changing requirements until the world situation settles. This will take some time, but we think that in the next two or three months that will happen. The lasting effects may take longer to return to “normal”, but we are confident they will. Hopefully the lessons learned will not be for naught.
Kalunamoo 