Hi Marie McBride here.  Today should be the day of freedom for our self-quarantined neighbor.
It was a learning experience and we are better prepared for any future quarantine of our own.
Notes on her door have been helpful when phone is charging etc.
She placed a shiny wrapped box outside her door which she could spray with disinfectant. She placed dispo gloves and hand sanitizer on it.  We would place her groceries in front of her door and text her.
She is so disciplined and a role-model for isolating herself and not breaking isolation!

Closed on Sundays

Another “what if” by Marie McBride
What is the pharmacies are closed on Sundays ?
Self-quarantined person needed OTC meds.
Walked to pharmacies on Chang Klan Road but they were closed.
So I found the one at RimPing by the iron bridge open!
They also sell cloth masks and spray bottles 100ml of alcohol.
Somewhat pricey.   By the way the red social distancing floor markers
at RimPing were ignored by farangs who also did not wear masks or even
use the hand sanitizers!!!

Halfway

Chiang Mai 

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Day Seven

I'm halfway through my self-imposed, 14-day quarantine and things are going smoothly, thanks to a lot of help from others.  I've established a routine that works for me--a slightly paranoid, over-70 woman with alergies, sleep apnea, and a hypersensitive upper-respiratory system.   

Someone put a box, wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper, outside my door a day or two after I got home from Italy and that box now serves as a place for leaving things like hot meals and groceries.  I put hand sanitizer and a box of gloves there for people who are picking up things like trash and laundry.

Here are some things I'm doing:

• The jet lag has finally let up.  Now back on Thailand time, I do my best to go to bed by 9:30 and get up by six.
• Because I live alone, I let my neighbors know when I'm going to bed and when I get up.
• I put a note on my door when I'm in the shower or napping. 
• I use distilled water (available at gas stations) in my CPAP machine and spray colloidal silver into the water chamber. 

• I put my trash outside my front door every day at noon for pickup by a neighbor.
• I eat three meals a day, and snack when I'm hungry.  (There's a good bit of stress-eating going on, too.)  I have two hot meals delivered every weekday and incorporate citrus fruits into my diet every day.

• I take medications and supplements as prescribed, including zinc.
• I run two air purifiers and a dehumidifier all day, keeping the indoor AQI below 10 and the humidity level below 55. 
• When I need water, I put the case of empty bottles outside my door and someone takes it downstairs.  The office delivers a fresh case and leaves it outside my door.
• When I have laundry to go out, I put the laundry bag outside my door and someone takes it downstairs.  WashDrop picks it up, washes, irons and folds everything, and delivers it to the front desk.  Someone brings it up and leaves it outside my front door.

• I wash my hands before and after handling anything that comes into my apartment from outside, before and after handling food, before and after cleaning, and before and after eating.
  
• I use Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream skin protectant for dry and chapped hands, applying it before going to bed. It's a thick, gooey ointment that won't rub off the way creams and lotions do.
• I take my temperature throughout the day, and right before bedtime.
• I drink eight glasses of water daily and a lot of hot tea.
• I stay in touch with friends and family through email and communication apps.
• I watch a lot of TV, especially CBSN, for US news.
• I watch movies on Fire Stick TV thanks to TorGuard, my VPN.
• I shower and put on clean clothes and perfume every day, even when I don't feel like it.

As the sun sets on day seven, I'm feeling great with no symptoms and a normal temperature.

I just attended a virtual worship service online, via Zoom, where I joined 26 of my fellow All Saints Chiang Mai members, scattered around the world in Hong Kong, Tenerife, Malta, the UK, Chiang Mai, and southern Thailand.  Watching from my living room with a few crumbs of bread and some juice next to my PC, I participated virtual communion--something that would have been unthinkable a few weeks ago.

The service is available on You Tube at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWNqpWcsixg

The times, they are a-changing.

Setting Up My Cocoon

Chiang Mai 

Monday, March 16, 2020

Day One

After traveling from Italy, flying through Frankfurt and Bangkok, and spending nearly 15 hours in what felt like flying Petri dishes--far too close to strangers--I felt radioactive.  My shoes, sitting on the balcony, little time bombs.  For some bizarre reason, I kept remembering Meryl Streep's line from Silkwood:  "Thelma got cooked."   Was I cooked? 

Even if I were not infected, having taken every precaution I could think of, I couldn't say the same for my belongings.  Wearing gloves, I slowly unpacked my suitcase, washing and cleaning everything inside, including clean clothes and packing cubes.  The suitcase was wiped down and placed in a large plastic trash bag.  The shoes--scary in the best of circumstances--will just have to sit tight for at least two weeks, after which I will clean them and bring them inside.

The day after my arrival, my neighbor and a church friend reached out to see whether I needed anything.  I did, of course.

I  needed a few things from the grocery store and some cash.  (I totally forgot to stop at an ATM on the way from the airport.)  My neighbor picked up groceries for me at Tops, including sauce for the Sicilian pasta I brought back.  (Tops delivers, but their website warns that "Delivery availability may be limited during this time.")  She suggested picking up my trash every day and we agreed on a schedule--one more thing I hadn't thought of.

My church friend swung by, picked up my passport and a document from the office, and took them around the corner to Nico at Assist Thai Visa Services, who took care of my TM30 notification. 

What Next?

Now that I'm settled in, with all of my immediate needs met, I'm turning my attention to how to stay healthy, entertained, and well-informed. 

Before turning in after a long day, I restarted my Hulu subscription, began catching up on my favorite shows, and fell asleep in my La-Z-Boy

What If? Need Contingency Plan!

Hello all! Marie McBride here.  Had a bit of a fright last night.  Could not contact quarantined neighbor. No answer by door bell, knocking loudly, email, whatsapp, or phone.  Turns out she was sleeping but still, when she awoke later, did not receive the texts.  She saw a missed call, I think,
Her wifi was out or problematic.    Since we did not find this out until this morning, the situation was alarming to us,  The condo staff was gone by the time we returned with her groceries.  I did not want to get security to open her door, though had she been at risk for stroke, heart attack, or paralysed, I would have done just that.   So....what ifs arose!  Now we will work on trying to analyze the what ifs and come up with a plan, like leaving a big note under the door saying we are trying to contact you, check your emails etc.  She can email or text us when she goes to bed or has phone or tablet charging or notifications turned off, tasks such as these can alleviate anxiety on both ends!  

Being a good Girl Scout

Sawatdii ka!  My husband and I offered to help a self-quarantined neighbor recently returned from Italy.   Being a former Girl Scout, I try to be there for people in distress.  Also, being Christian, and this is the Lenten Season, we look for ways to be a better person.  This is an easy task without any strain.  Our neighbor emails a grocery list, we buy what we can, place it in front of her door, ring the bell and RUN!  haha...no, we do chat from a one meter distance!  We wear PPE (personal protective equipment).   She offered to transfer money to our bank but we will tally the sum at the end of the quarantine.  She is a brave gal with good spirits and she is not picky about what we choose to buy, like which fruits etc.   This makes it easier.    FLEXIBILITY is key to being quarantined.  🌈

Plan Ahead

Palermo, Sicily

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Palermo, Sicily

I've been locked down in Palermo for five days and am booked on a flight out this afternoon, hoping to stay ahead of looming border closures.    I'll be taking three flights to get to my final destination, Chiang Mai, Thailand, passing through four airports in Italy, Germany, and Thailand.

I am going through my flat, deciding what to pack and what to discard.   My clothes have been washed in hot water and zipped into packing cubes.  I've thrown away everything that isn't essential or could be contaminated.  At the last minute, I grab two huge bags of pasta from the kitchen and shove them into my suitcase, thinking of the 14-day quarantine ahead.

Finally, I make a small pile of things I'll need between here and home--especially things to protect me and others on the plane and at airports.  Those go in my backpack:

• Masks 
• Rubber gloves
• Goggles
• Disinfectant wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Tissues
• Plastic bags (for used masks, gloves, and wipes)
• Baggies for documents
• Medication

It Takes a Village

When my email itinerary arrives from Lufthansa, I forward it to the juristic office at The Shine Condominium, where I live, to a neighbor, and to three friends from All Saints Chiang Mai, my church.  I reach out to the juristic office and the church and tell them I need help.

My priest finds a volunteer to stock my refrigerator in advance of my arrival, my housekeeper gets

my apartment ready, and the workers in the the juristic office offer suggestions for making the next

two weeks easier:

• Why don't I transfer money from my current account at Bangkok Bank so they can set up a
  petty cash account for paying my expenses, utilities, delivery fees, and tips, they ask.  Good idea!
• Would I like to have two hot meals delivered every weekday?  They can set it up.  Yes please.  They make the necessary arrangements with Greens Clean and pay the 1,000 baht weekly cost out of my petty cash fund.  (I always wanted to be a trust fund baby!) 
• DM us on LINE when you're running low on water and we'll send up a case (50 baht).  Nice!
• And let us know if you need anything else.  "We're here for you."  

When I arrive Sunday night, I put on fresh gloves before entering the building, use my knuckle to push the elevator button, wrap a clean tissue around the door handles, and stip everything off as soon as I'm inside my apartment.  The mask, tissues, and gloves go in a plastic bag and everything goes out to the balcony.  My shoes, the clothes I'm wearing, my suitcase, my coat--everything.  I take a long, hot shower and crawl into bed.

Now the easy part begins--a self-imposed, 14-day quarantine.

2020 When the Virus Stopped the World

Welcome

Hi ... my name is Chris Smith and I've lived in Chiangmai, Thailand since 2002.
I facilitate a meeting each Tuesday lunchtime of residents and visitors who want to talk about technology and how it might enrich our lives ... we call ourselves "CMGeeks".
We also run several online message groups using LINE where we keep the conversations going 24/7
At one of the meeting it was agreed that we create a Blog to document how those living here were dealing with the issues of (self) quarantine in this time of the Corona Virus epidemic ... so here it is.
If you are in the position of being (or have been) in quarantine in Chiangmai or you have been in a support role and you would like to share those experiences then please contact me at csmith@csmith.info and ask if you can be given the ability to POST messages on this Blog ... all you need to do is give me your email address.
Your posts can be long or short .... you could post just once or regularly over a period of time.
The Blog is set up to allow ANYONE to COMMENT under individual Posts ... those comments are moderated and will only be published after approval.
If you have any other suggestions about the Blog then also feel free to contact me.

http://shambles.net